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^J THE 

RELAXING TRIGGER 



BY 



MAJOR MURRAY BALDWIN, U.S.A. 



" Tewpora mmtantur nos 
Et mu'amur in Mis" 



THE RELAXING TRIGGER 



BY 



MAJOR MURRAY BALDWIN, U.S.A. 



PRESENTED BY 



THE EUREKA ARMS COMPANY 

OF NEVADA 



The Origin, Description and Application of the Most Epoch-making 
Invention in the History of Firearms 



w 'Qlempora ntirfarttur nos 
Jit mutamur tn idts" 



BOSTON 

PRESS OF GEO. H. ELLIS CO, 

1920 






Copyright, 1920, by 
Murray Baldwin 



101 -3 1920 
©CU601312 



*vt 






CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Prolegomena ix-xv 

Chapter I 1-8 

General Description 1-2 

Definitions 3-7 

Compression Trigger 3 

Relaxing Trigger 3 

Trigger Distance 4 

Finger Rebound 4 

Relaxing Distance 4 

Safety Firing Factor 4 

Finger Grip 5 

Disparate Idea 5-7 

The Presumption of Probability 8 

Chapter II 9-28 

How the Trigger Functions 9-10 

The Finger Grip 11-14 

The Balky Mule . , 14-15 

The Obstinate Recruit 15-17 

The Use of the Trigger Hand 17-18 

Exact Method of Using the Finger Grip .... 18 
The Results Attained by the Use of the Finger Grip 18-19 

The Safety Latch— Military Model 19-20 

Aiming 21-22 

Trigger Action 22-23 

Cease Firing 23-24 

Elimination of Present Safety Latch 25 

The Sporting Model, with Automatic Safety . . 25-26 

Automatic Safety Latch 26-28 

Variations 28 



IV 

PAGE 

Chapter III ' 29-32 

The Claims Made for the Relaxing Trigger . . 29-32 

Chapter IV 33-35 

The Psychological Difficulty 33 

Medical Opinion 33-34 

The Exact Difficulty 34-35 

Are the Difficulties Exaggerated? 35 

Chapter V 36-38 

The Radiation of Motor Impulse 37 

Chapter VI 39-41 

Adaptability to all Firearms 39 

The Government Requirements for Rifles . . 40-41 

Chapter VII 42-43 

The Proposed Test 42 

The American Conception of Rifle Fire 43 

Chapter VIII 44^46 

A Vision of the Future 44-46 

The Relaxing Trigger under Exciting Conditions . 46 

Chapter IX 47-48 

Mechanical Considerations 47 

Penny Drill 48 

Chapter X 49-53 

Eyesight — The New Psychology 49 

The Anatomy of the Eye 50-51 

How the Relaxing Trigger assists the Action of the 

Ciliary Muscle 51-53 

Chapter XI 54 

Crude Attempts to Approximate Relaxation ... 54 



V 

PAGE 

Chapter XII 55-57 

Grasping the Stock ' • • 55 

Flinching **« 



-& 



Chapter XIII 58-61 

Safety 53-59 

A Test of Safety 60-61 

Chapter XIV 62-67 

General Considerations 62 

Rapidity 62-63 

Sequence of Action 63 

General Application to Revolvers, Automatics and 

Machine Guns 64-66 

Specific Application to Automatic Pistols .... 66 
Specific Application to Machine Guns .... 66-67 

Chapter XV 68-75 

Causation and Sensation as Affected by Relaxation 68-70 

Weber's Law 70-71 

Curve of Actual Eye-Strain 72 

Curve of Actual Finger-Strain 73 

Curves of Eye-Strain and of Finger-Strain Com- 
pared when under Compression and when 
under Relaxation 74-75 

Chapter XVI 76-79 

Relaxation in General 76 

Relaxation in Other Professions 76 

Relaxation in Pugilism 77-78 

Automobiles 79 

Chapter XVII 80-82 

The Longbow vs. The Crossbow 80-81 

Deductions *** 



VI 

PAGE 

Chapter XVIII 83-91 

The Claims and by Whom Endorsed .... 83-84 

The Test 84 

The Originality 84 

Fire Effect 85-86 

Specific Questions 87 

The Two Schools of Instruction 87-88 

"Give it the Rest" 88-89 

Continuous Pull Through 89-90 

Adaptability to Both of the Above Methods ... 90 
Safety 91 

Chapter XIX . 92-97 

The Relaxing Trigger in Collective Fire .... 92 

The Crowd 92 

The Mob Spirit 93 

The Military Crowd 93-94 

Volley Firing 94-95 

Why Volley-firing must be Poor with the Com- 
pression Trigger 95 

The Relaxing Trigger in Volley Fire .... 96-97 
Conclusion— Q. E. D 98 

Appendix 99-126 

Nature of the Endorsements 99 



Chronological List of the Endorsements 

Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas B. Seigle, U.S.A. . . 100 
Lieutenant-Colonel Townsend Whalen, General 

Staff, U.S.A 103 

Colonel N. H. Hall, U.S. Marine Corps .... 105 

Rear Admiral Spencer S. Wood, U.S.N 109 

First Lieutenant Thomas W. Jones, Ordnance 

Department 110 



Vll 

PAGE 

General John W. Ruckman, U.S.A 113 

General Clarence Edwards, U.S.A 115 

Mr. Sidney E. Sears (Holder of World's Record 

with the Revolver) 116 

First Lieutenant B. R. Camp, U.S.A. (Distin- 
guished Marksman and Pistol Shot) . . . . 118 
Lieutenant-Colonel T. A. Baldwin, U.S.A. ... 120 

Colonel Joseph Garrard, U.S.A 122 

General Leonard Wood, U. S. A 123 

Lieutenant-General Hunter Liggett, U.S.A. . . . 125 



IX 



PROLEGOMENA 

The Relaxing Trigger, the Most Revolutionary 
Invention in the History of Firearms 

All small arms have a trigger. To discharge the 
weapon the trigger is retracted. There is to-day but 
one type of trigger known which may be called the 
compression trigger, as it must be carefully squeezed 
backward to effect the discharge. 

It is immaterial how a trigger mechanism func- 
tions on a field piece or a large cannon. In this case 
there is but one thing to be effected ; that is, the firing 
pin must strike the detonator, and just how this is done 
has no effect on the accuracy of the fire. Such 
weapons are, however, not held in the hand, and a 
field gun is inanimate and has no nerves. 

When a small arm is held in the hand and the 
trigger is actuated by the trigger finger a very differ- 
ent condition is presented. A human being has 
nerves and a mind, and the mechanism should be so 
made as to be in harmony with the psychology of 
the individual using it. The present trigger does 
not answer these requirements. 

It is the purpose of this book to make plain the 
reasons why this is so; to show that the method of 
firing small arms by compressing the trigger is a psy- 
chological absurdity; and that the only correct way is 



to consider the human equation of the individual and 
discharge small arms by relaxing the trigger, that is, 
to draw it back, then aim, and while aiming allow 
the finger to relax or move forward with the trigger. 
The discharge will take place as the trigger moves 
forward. 

This is an entirely new idea. The Eureka Arms 
Company of Nevada owns the patents for relaxing 
triggers that function as described herein, and it is 
desired to present to the military men and sportsmen 
of America the essential facts regarding the most revo- 
lutionary invention in the history of firearms. 

To relax the finger in firing requires more parts 
in the trigger mechanism. It is consequently some- 
what more complicated, but the advantage gained lies 
in the fact that the manipulation of the weapon is 
made far easier for the user. 

Many years of study have been devoted to this 
subject as applied to firearms, during which it was 
necessary to acquire a knowledge of the psychology 
of small physical movements and the anatomy of the 
hand in order that the Relaxing Trigger might be 
brought to its present state. 

To change the existing method of firing small arms 
— a method followed for centuries — is an ambitious 
task. It is revolutionary, but it will come to pass. 
The description given of this method and the results 
attained will prove this beyond a doubt. Any one 
who forms opinions from evidence and reflection can- 
not fail to realize what a prodigious change has been 



XI 



successfully effected, if he will read this book with 
intelligent care. 

For military men and for sportsmen who are in- 
terested in securing the best results this book is pub- 
lished. 



The Elusiveness of the Obvious 

It is a matter of common knowledge that some of 
the most obvious things escape our attention. One 
reason is that convention causes us to regard an act 
or custom that has been long established as a per- 
manent solution. To grasp at every new thing with- 
out due inquiry leads to ruin. 

Pope's words of sage and sane advice were never 
more worthy of note than to-day: 

"Be not the first by whom the new is tried, 
Nor yet the last to lay the old aside." 

Sometimes, however, prudence can operate, not as 
a brake to restrain rash enthusiasm, but as an abso- 
lute block to progress. Here as in all things the 
middle course is the better. 

The Relaxing Trigger, while new to the world at 
large, is not new or untried by competent judges. 

Another reason the obvious is often elusive lies 
in the fact that the very nearness of an object and 
familiarity with it prevent its being seen or visualized 
in proper perspective. 



Xll 



The Needle 

For countless aeons of ages, sewing was done by 
using a needle with a point at one end and an eye in 
the other. There was no basic improvement in this 
idea from the stone age to the nineteenth century. 
Better needles were made as time wore on and as 
materials changed successively from bone to stone, 
bronze, iron, and finally steel, according to the intel- 
lectual development of the race. The needle was, 
however, essentially the same — a long thin rod with 
a point on one end and an eye in the other. 

The genius of Howe made his sewing-machine pos- 
sible. The great and revolutionary change was his 
conception of a needle with the eye in the point. Thus 
was the sewing-machine born and on this principle 
it is still dependent. 

Similarly for centuries since the invention of fire- 
arms the conception of effecting their discharge was 
by compressing a trigger, a conception which has 
undergone no change since the Middle Ages. This 
conception is fundamentally wrong psychologically, 
anatomically, and neurologically. In the following 
pages this conclusion is proved by a reasoning as 
rigid and exact as any employed in the realm of pure 
mathematics. 



Xlll 



Read and be Convinced. The Argument 
is Irrefutable 

The invention of the Relaxing Trigger is as revolu- 
tionary to firearms as the Howe needle was to the sew- 
ing-machine. Inability to become a good shot does 
not warrant an inference of poor mentality. This is 
now axiomatic. We all know men of great mental 
acumen who have never been able to become good 
shots. The reason is that the use of the present type 
of compression trigger makes marksmanship a meas- 
ure of nerve stability and reaction. 

The attention of many able men has been concen- 
trated on teaching a forefinger technique difficult to 
acquire but vitally essential to the present type of trig- 
ger. Forefinger technique, or "trigger squeeze," is 
absolutely indispensable. Our army boasts many 
expert riflemen and accomplished authors on target 
practice. They are all agreed on this subject, as are 
all civilian riflemen. 

For over twenty years the author of this book has 
made a careful study of the psychological reasons 
affecting target practice, with the endeavor of ascer- 
taining why every man of average intelligence does 
not become a good shot without the long and laborious 
training now necessary, which very rarely results in 
making every man of an organization a qualified shot. 

As a result of long study the conclusion was reached 
that a trigger should not be squeezed at all, but 
relaxed, that is, the trigger should be quickly com- 



XIV 



pressed or even jerked back with impunity without 
discharging the firearm; and that when the trigger is 
relaxed after being so compressed, the discharge 
should then take place. 

Working on these ideas the author years ago pro- 
duced a Relaxing Trigger which gave admirable 
results so far as target practice was concerned and 
fully justified the principle of relaxation. 

Owing, however, to the vicissitudes of active ser- 
vice, time was not available to produce a mechanism 
that would answer all requirements. 

The patents of the Eureka Arms Company are now 
the result of many practical tests, and a very great 
variety of Relaxing Triggers can be produced under 
them. 

Rifle and pistol instruction in our army has been 
developed to the utmost extent possible with the instru- 
ments provided. Further and most material progress 
in accuracy, rapidity of fire, and shortening of the 
period of instruction are now possible with the use 
of the Relaxing Trigger, which is now ready as a 
completed invention needing no change. Flinching, 
which is the greatest source of error, is thus overcome, 
and also any tendency from other sources to disturb 
the alignment of the sights at the moment of firing. 

The Relaxing Trigger accomplishes all this. It 
also causes fire to become lower than the normal 
under exciting conditions, while with the compression 
trigger excitement always results in higher and less 
effective fire. 



XV 



A rifle equipped with the Relaxing Trigger has 
been demonstrated on the target range. Soldiers of 
every grade have been convinced of its merit. Com- 
missioned officers of experience of all ranks from 
lieutenants to general officers have expressed their 
approval. It is impossible that they all can be wrong. 
The value of such an invention must in its last analysis 
be determined by the officers and men who are to use 
and direct infantry lire in battle. 

Five thousand shots have been fired by scores of 
men, trained and untrained, at the Marine Corps Rifle 
Range near Wakefield, Massachusetts. The results 
are described elsewhere. Attention of the reader is 
invited to the opinion expressed by General John W. 
Ruckman, U.S.A., one of the eye-witnesses. 

A comprehensive test has now been ordered by the 
United States Government, which will shortly take 
place at the School of Musketry at Camp Benning, 
Columbus, Georgia. Tuesday followed Monday last 
week and will next week and through the ages to 
come; similarly, the results witnessed at Wakefield 
cannot fail to be in evidence at Camp Benning. 



XVI 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The works of most of the modern psychologists 
have been studied for years in order to acquire a 
knowledge of the psychology of small muscular move- 
ments, and to make due acknowledgment to them all 
is impossible. 

To those who are interested in the basic principle 
of the Relaxing Trigger the work on "Psychology" by 
Professor William James of Harvard University will 
be found most helpful, as well as "The Psychology 
of Suggestion" by Boris Sidis. 

Murray Baldwin, 
Major U.S.A. (Rtd.) 

Charlestown, Massachusetts. 
June 26, 1920. 



CHAPTER I 

This is not a military book, but a description of a 
new trigger movement attachable to all firearms actu- 
ated by a separate pull of the trigger for each shot. 

It is called the Relaxing Trigger. It is one of the 
most revolutionary concepts that has ever been ad- 
vanced in the whole history of firearms. 

It is of interest to all who use firearms. The mili- 
tary man will find herein the solution of the trigger- 
squeeze difficulty. The sportsman is equally inter- 
ested in this, for although he does not have to instruct 
others, as the military man does, he is equally inter- 
ested in accurate shooting and in anything that will 
make it more easily attainable. 

The Relaxing Trigger is a psychological mechani- 
cal invention, and it is thought that there is no other 
where psychological reasons alone lead to its construc- 
tion. 

The author became greatly interested in trying to 
find out why the trigger squeeze was such a bugbear 
and so hard to learn, and once learned so hard to re- 
tain a mastery of without incessant practice. With the 
sole idea of facilitating the instruction of recruits, a 

The Relaxing Trigger is constructed on a principle 
as old as the hills and as immutable, but for the first 
time finds expression in mechanism. 



study of the psychology of small physical movements 
was undertaken, which finally necessitated some study 
of neurology and anatomy as soon as his attention was 
directed to the possibilities of the Relaxing Trigger. 

The reason why the trigger squeeze is hard is ex- 
pressed in "The Definition of the Psychological Diffi- 
culty," on page 33. This difficulty exists with fire- 
arms because the shooting of firearms is almost the 
only sport where aim has to be taken while the 
muscles are in a state of progressive tension. It will 
be seen on page 77 how the scientific pugilist avoids 
being in tension while leading a blow. Subcon- 
sciously every one tries to avoid doing two things at 
once, but in firearms this seemed inevitable. Such 
is the power of conventionality. It was accepted as 
an unescapable difficulty that one must aim and 
squeeze trigger simultaneously, and many were the 
ingenious stratagems employed by instructors to take 
the mind of the rifleman from the very intense con- 
centration on the trigger finger so that the eye and 
trigger finger would work harmoniously. 

These methods while painstaking and thorough did 
not solve the difficulty. It still remained hard work 
to instruct a large number of recruits. The real 
nature of the difficulty was not apprehended and has 

The principles deducible from a consideration of 
relaxation alone are sufficient to establish more than 
a reasonable presumption. Actual demonstration 
has supplied full proof. 



never prior to the first edition of this book found 
expression in printed form. 

This book is the result of twenty years' study and 
explains the difficulty as it has never before been 
explained and moreover provides the remedy — a rem- 
edy so simple and efficacious that good shooting is now 
within the reach of any one with normal eyesight. 

Before proceeding further, a careful examination 
of the following definitions will be of material assist- 
ance to the reader: 

Compression Trigger. 

This is the only type now in use by the world. As 
the trigger is retracted which compresses the trigger 
spring the firearm is discharged. Hence the name 
"compression trigger." This is practically in almost 
the same shape as at the time of the introduction of 
firearms. The fundamental idea has not changed. In 
the use of this trigger the human element of the firer is 
entirely ignored. 

Relaxing Trigger. 

This is the only correct type. Extensive tests have 
proved its superiority over the compression trigger. 
As the trigger is retracted the trigger spring is com- 
pressed, but the firearm is not discharged. As the trig- 
ger is allowed to relax by letting the trigger finger yield 
to the tension of the compressed trigger, the trigger 
moves forward and the firearm is discharged. Hence 
the name "relaxing trigger." In the use of this trig- 
ger the human element is considered in every phase of 
its functioning. 



4 

Trigger Distance. 

The distance the trigger moves over in passing from 
its normal position to the position it occupies when 
fully retracted, or the reverse. 

Finger Rebound. 

If a trigger of the relaxing type is suddenly and quickly 
retracted as far as possible, the finger will encounter 
a solid resistance when the trigger can be no longer 
retracted, and the finger will naturally move forward 
a slight distance. This distance as determined by many 
observations is called finger rebound. It is of impor- 
tance with the Relaxing Trigger. 

Relaxing Distance. 

The distance the Relaxing Trigger passes over from 
the position of maximum retraction until in its forward 
movement the firearm is discharged. 

Safety Firing Factor. 

In a Relaxing Trigger the ratio existing between the 
finger rebound and the relaxing distance. The relax- 
ing distance must be at least twice that of the finger 
rebound. Otherwise the Relaxing Trigger would be 
dangerous. When the Relaxing Trigger is pulled or 
jerked back roughly, for this can be done with im- 
punity, the rifle is not discharged, but if the motion is 
rough the finger will rebound. When the trigger is 
retracted and aim taken, if the firer is fatigued or 
excited, a slight quivering of the finger muscles takes 
place, but not otherwise. Excitement or fatigue, how- 
ever, always induces slight muscular movements. The 
relaxing distance must therefore be greater than that of 
finger rebound as well as greater than that caused by 
the slight and often involuntary movements induced by 



either excitement or fatigue. As a mean of several 
hundred observations it has been definitely determined 
that the relaxing distance must be at least twice that 
of the finger rebound of the most nervous men. 

Finger Grip. 

A most useful feature with which a rifle with the Relax- 
ing Trigger is equipped. It is placed back of the 
safety latch. It is convex on a horizontal section but 
concave on its anterior vertical face. The finger next 
to the trigger finger fits snugly into the anterior surface. 
It materially assists in pulling the rifle straight back 
against the shoulder and also to a great extent prevents 
the tendency of the recruit to squeeze the gunstock too 
hard with all the muscles of the trigger hand. 

Disparate Idea 

This is the last definition and the most important 
for an accurate understanding of the underlying prin- 
ciple of the Relaxing Trigger. It is thus defined in 
the Standard Dictionary: 

Disparate Idea. 

Logic. Having no definitive relation in common with 
another idea, connected only by some notion of great 
generality; divergent, tending to depart from the train 
of thought of the primary idea. 

This is put in practice by nearly every one daily, 
although subconsciously. It is the central idea — a 
knowledge of which has led to the development of 
the Relaxing Trigger. As the term is to many un- 
known, a thorough explanation is necessary, for unless 



the term is thoroughly understood, the following 
pages will to some degree at least fail to interpret the 
message which is for the first time presented to the 
public as the practical application of psychology to 
concrete results of the utmost practical utility. Rob- 
ert Fitzsimmons, a personal friend of the author in 
his youth, and one of the great lights of the pugilistic 
firmament of that time, was intimately acquainted 
with the practical value of eliminating disparate ideas 
when a single act was to be accomplished. He could 
not have defined the expression and doubtless it would 
have been meaningless to him. Yet as set forth in 
chapter XVI he made practical application of the 
principle the very name of which he did not know. 

The following illustrations will make clear what is 
meant by disparate ideas — ideas that disturb and dis- 
tract the mind while performing an act. 

Let us suppose a famous lawyer is preparing a 
brief. He is giving it his careful attention. The 
noise of the street is to him but a confused hum. He 
is oblivious to the draft of an open window. A book 
falls to the floor. He does not hear it. His entire 
mind is concentrated on the case before him. Sud- 
denly before his mental vision the image of his dearly 
beloved child obtrudes. The child has just been op- 
erated upon that morning in a distant city. Life and 
death are in the balance. In his mind's eye he sees 
the child toddling to Daddy with outstretched arms, 
sees him with his toys, sees him in a thousand acts 
dear to the memory. A tear falls slowly to the page. 



The case of law is forgotten while his thoughts are 
in a turmoil of anxiety. The disparate idea evoked 
by the thought of his child prevents any attention 
being given to the legal matter. Time passes. The 
intensity of the emotion reaches its acme. The sensa- 
tion of grief cannot now increase. He starts, looks 
up, realizes the passage of time, and by a resolute 
effort once more gives his attention to the case before 
him. 

This illustrates what is meant by a disparate idea 
at its greatest intensity. The mental image of the 
sick child entirely prevented any attention to another 
matter. It was for the time completely absorbing. 

Now any idea that interferes with the accomplish- 
ment of an act which occupies the mind is disparate. 
The steady squeezing of a trigger while aiming with 
the compression trigger is a very nice operation and 
requires so much care that it is very hard to do and at 
the same time pay adequate attention to the act of aim- 
ing. Two things are to be done at the same time, and 
this is difficult even when they are related; but, as 
will be more fully illustrated, the act of squeezing 
a trigger while aiming is absolutely disparate (that 
is, conflicting and disturbing) with regard to eyesight. 

Eminent psychologists, neurologists, and the best 
brains of our army have agreed with the line of rea- 
soning here set forth. 

Officers of all ranks of the line of the army, and 
non-commissioned officers of years of service and ex- 
perienced in instructing men in rifle practice, alike 



3 

testify to the correctness of the diagnosis of the great 
difficulty of instruction and also testify to the fact 
that the remedy here explained is a real remedy — that 
it really does surmount the hitherto insurmountable 
difficulty. The reasoning is endorsed by well-quali- 
fied men. The results are attested by the testimony 
of expert witnesses. The mechanism by which the 
results were attained was developed in consonance 
with the principles discovered by study and reason- 
ing. The results show what has never before been 
attained. 

The presumption, then, is that the reasoning is cor- 
rect. Considered from a severe logical viewpoint 
this conclusion is not rigidly exact, but when the char- 
acter and experience of the witnesses are considered 
and the nature of the results, the conclusion is war- 
ranted that the reasoning is right. The chance that so 
many can all be wrong is small. The evidence of the 
results is overwhelming. Certainly by considering 
the laws of chance in connection with the laws of evi- 
dence the fact that the reasoning is true indubitably 
approximates certainty. 

The ballistic qualities of firearms are susceptible 
of but little improvement, but the method by which 
their discharge is effected is an archaic absurdity- 
through which the hampering hand of conventionality 
impedes real progress in the most essential part of 
musketry-training, the act of aiming. 



CHAPTER II 
HOW THE TRIGGER FUNCTIONS 




FIGURE I 



A — Location of safety latch rendered unnecessary and which is there- 
fore removed. 

B — New safety latch. T — Trigger. 

(Another form of safety latch is also available) . 

C — Finger grip. 



A revolutionary idea developed with the utmost 
care where nothing is left to chance. Such is the 
Relaxing Trigger. 




FIGURE II 

A — Location of safety latch rendered unnecessary and which is there- 
fore removed. 

B — New safety latch. T — Trigger. 

C — Finger guard on stock is hidden from view by grasp of hand. 
The finger next to trigger finger is in front of finger guard and 
back of safety latch. To execute, "cease firing," pull back the 
trigger finger a little harder; shift the first joint (the one nearest 
the palm of the hand) of the second finger in front of the "safety 
latch," then pull both fingers up and backwards, returning the 
"safety latch" to the position of "safe." This is done almost 
instantaneously. To fire, pull the trigger back, — the quicker the 
better, — then relax the trigger finger smoothly. When relaxing 
after compressing the trigger, concentrate the entire attention on 
the sights — forget the trigger finger. 

Relaxing should not take over half a second, and should be 
done smoothly and continuously and never by a series of successive 
relaxations; in other words, the trigger finger should yield smoothly 
to the tension of the compressed trigger. 



The proof of the pudding is in the eating. 
Relaxing Trigger has proved its value. 



The 



11 

The appearance of the rifle is unchanged. The 
mechanism is entirely contained in the stock. The 
only new parts to be seen are the new safety latch 
"B" and the finger grip "C" on the stock. On old 
rifles this finger grip is easily applied as a separate 
piece, and on new ones the master pattern for the 
lathe can easily have this small part added. 

It is necessary, not as a protection to the device, 
but in order to prevent the hand from coming in con- 
tact with the safety latch in bayonet work, and thereby 
abrading the finger. 

The Finger Grip 

The finger grip provides another and very material 
advantage. This is it. In aiming, a recruit always 
tends to grip the small of the stock with too much 
force, thus setting up the muscles of the forearm with 
great tenseness. It has been found that, by using the 
finger next to the trigger finger as a hook and pulling 
firmly against the finger grip, this finger will be kept 
from contact with the safety latch during the recoil. 
A great advantage results, as there is a straight pull 
exerted in a straight line with the butt, which is thus 
pressed snugly against the shoulder, and the tendency 
to grasp the small of the stock with a spasmodic and 
violent pressure is entirely obviated. 

The Relaxing Trigger will revolutionize the teach- 
ing of musketry and instruction in the use of all fire- 
arms. This is as inevitable as the sunrise. 



12 

While a pistol grip effects something of this nature, 
a comparison with the finger grip discloses a marked 
difference. The only value of the pistol grip is to 
cause the muscular force pressing the butt against 
the shoulder to operate in a right line nearly parallel 
to axis of symmetry of the gunstock. The same effect 
is produced by the finger grip. There is, however, 
another advantage. The tendency to grip the stock 
with a violent pressure of the trigger hand (so notice- 
able with recruits and novices) is entirely overcome. 

The reason is that a disparate idea is evoked in 
the mind of the rifleman while aiming. The finger 
grip is convex on a longitudinal section, but is con- 
cave on a vertical section. The trigger finger alone 
presses against the finger grip, which from its shape 
is made very comfortable for the trigger finger. The 
recruit is instructed to pull straight back. This idea 
of pulling straight back occupies his mind so strongly 
that there is almost no tendency to squeeze the gun- 
stock with the other fingers of the hand, and further- 
more a consideration of the position the hand and 
fingers then occupy and the anatomy of the hand will 
make it evident that it is not comfortable to do so. 
Two things are therefore accomplished, — a straight 
pull against the shoulder is assured, and the tendency 
to grasp the stock too tightly, which makes the whole 
hand act as a group and destroys individual flexibility 
of the trigger finger, is to a great measure overcome. 
The pistol grip helped to a straight pull against the 
shoulder, but did nothing to prevent the intense grasp- 



13 

ing of the gunstock. The finger grip efficiently accom- 
plishes both these ends. 

A disparate idea in the mind of a man using a 
mechanism always impedes muscular movement, mak- 
ing it difficult. In this case it is usefully employed 
and deliberately introduced to prevent the rifleman 
from doing something which it is desired he should 
not do — squeezing the stock too hard with the trigger 
hand. 

When it is desired that a man should do something 
involving muscular movement and the mechanism by 
any chance will evoke a disparate idea, then to get 
the best results possible the mechanism must be 
changed so that the disparate idea will not be evoked. 

Tn using the trigger while aiming, a disparate idea 
is evoked which impedes the rifleman if the trigger 
has to be pulled back while aiming. This difficulty 
will later be fully explained. To avoid this disparate 
idea while aiming, the mechanism of the trigger has 
been changed for the first time in history by causing 
the discharge to take place as the trigger is relaxed. 
In the latter case the mechanism has been changed 
to eliminate a disparate idea which impedes mental 
concentration. 

In the former case of the finger grip, the mechanism 
has been deliberately made so as to cause a disparate 
idea in the mind of the rifleman, for it is desired to 
impede the mental idea of squeezing the muscles of 
the whole trigger hand upon the gunstock. 

Mechanisms that require exact effort should always 



14 

be made with the human equation constantly in mind. 
Anything causing a disparate idea should be elimi- 
nated if its effect is to impede the desired result, and 
introduced if it is desired to impede or diminish the 
effect produced by a harmful factor. 

The attention of the reader is directed to the dis- 
cussion of disparate ideas in the list of definitions 
given in the preface. 

Additional Remarks on the Finger Grip 

The entire idea of the Relaxing Trigger is so new 
that the following illustration is submitted relative 
to the finger grip even though some repetition is in- 
volved. There is in this book no attempt at literary 
grace. The controlling thought is to represent the 
great and inherent merits of the new method. 

The Balky Mule 

The mule is an animal without pride of ancestry 
or hope of progeny. He has many interesting char- 
acteristics. The obstinacy of the mule is proverbial. 
One concept, and one only, occupies his mind at a 
time. Consequently when the idea to balk and "pre- 
serve a masterly inactivity" is present, persuasions 
and entreaties, imprecations and blows are alike futile 
to move him from his insensate obduracy. 

Nevertheless there is a solution. It is to occupy 
his mind with another thought — to give him some- 



15 

thing else to think about and he will cease to balk. 
In other words, consider his psychology and apply 
the appropriate remedy. One solution and a highly 
successful one is, after the usual methods as indicated 
have failed, to tie a cord firmly about each ear, firsl 
folding this organ. 

This does not hurt the mule, but the treatment is 
uncomfortable. His mind is now occupied with the 
thought of the disagreeable feeling induced in the ear. 
He wags his head from side to side, sorely perplexed, 
and when urged forward will invariably proceed, hav- 
ing forgotten to balk. The cords on his ears have 
given him a divergent thought — a disparate idea as 
previously explained. 

Man, who is at the top of creation, is as susceptible 
to the same treatment as the humble mule. 



The Obstinate Recruit 

Every recruit wishes to fire well and to be a good 
marksman. In all of the author's experience he has 
never seen a man who did not wish to attain as high 
a qualification as possible on the target range. Some- 
times after making apparently every effort and not 
being able to respond to the patient instruction he re- 
ceives, the recruit becomes discouraged, and, realizing 
that he will never be a good shot, pretends to an indif- 
ference that he does not feel. It is a treat to see the 
expression of delight that comes over the face of a 
man who has never previously been able to qualify, 



16 

when he first uses the Relaxing Trigger. What has 
never before been attainable is now within his mas- 
tery, and every lineament of his physiognomy radiates 
joy. 

The recruit is, however, very obstinate if he is not 
a "natural shot." This is by no means the result of 
deliberate wilfulness as displayed by the mule, but 
because a most essential part of his instruction is 
against every natural instinct instead of being in 
harmony with the human psychology. 

The compression trigger is least inefficient in the 
hands of men who are not nervous — men of the 
phlegmatic type. But the American temperament is 
a nervous one and this should be taken into account. 
This the Relaxing Trigger does. The compression 
trigger never can. 

Any one who has taught musketry knows how hard 
it is to teach the "trigger squeeze." One reason is 
that the recruit will almost invariably press the stock 
convulsively with the trigger hand, whereas he should 
hold it with moderate firmness and draw it back 
against the shoulder by the action of the biceps 
muscles of the upper arm and the deltoid muscles of 
the shoulder. 

The author has frequently seen men while firing 
tense every muscle of the forearm and of the hand. 
This is not only useless, but destroys for the time the 
individual flexibility and movement of the trigger 
finger so that to compress a trigger of only three and 
a half pounds pull, the recruit really employs a force 



17 

of twenty pounds and often more. Now if he could 
be induced to grasp the stock with a moderate pressure 
and exert the force he uses in the proper way by pull- 
ing straight back with the biceps and deltoid muscles, 
the rifle would be held more steadily and the free 
movement of the trigger finger would be unimpaired. 
The advantage of a straight pull back is afforded 
by the pistol grip on some rifles and by the protuber- 
ance on the stock of the Enfield Rifle, but neither of 
these devices prevents the grasping of the stock with 
too great an intensity. This tendency which the re- 
cruit so obstinately persists in is to a remarkable ex- 
tent obviated by the finger grip as applied to the 
Relaxing Trigger. 

The finger grip is not essential to the use 
of the Relaxing Trigger, but is a most valuable 
assistance. 

The Use of the Trigger Hand 

In aiming and firing, both arms and hands are 
used. The left hand is flat under the rifle near the 
lower swivel. The fingers of this hand do no work, 
merely sustaining the rifle vertically. The pressure 
of the sling against the left arm will press the butt 
firmly against the shoulder. The trigger hand manip- 
ulates the trigger and holds up the butt against the 
shoulder. The thumb should be extended along the 
stock and never around it. The face should be held 
firmly against the stock. The trigger hand should 



18 

supply some force in holding the butt in place on the 
shoulder, but it should never grasp the stick with 
extreme tightness. 

Exact Method of Using the Finger Grip 

The finger grip is designed to fit the finger next to 
the trigger finger. The recruit is instructed to pull 
straight back, pressing the second joint of this finger 
against the finger grip, and is told that this force is all 
that the trigger hand should exert towards maintain- 
ing the rifle against the shoulder. When so doing 
he will pull straight back, using the biceps and deltoid 
muscles, using his trigger finger to manipulate the 
trigger, and the thumb and the other fingers sustaining 
the rifle in the vertical plane, and, last and most im- 
portant of all, he will not grip the stock convulsively. 

The Results 

These beneficial results are attained for two 
reasons. The first is psychological. The mind of 
the recruit is occupied with a disparate idea so far 
as grasping the stock is concerned. The principal 
sensation is that of pressure against the finger grip. 
This distracts his attention from the persistent squeez- 
ing of the stock so characteristic of recruits. The dis- 
parate idea distracts him as it does the mule. 

The second reason is that the human hand is so con- 
structed that, when pressure is thus maintained with 



19 

one finger against the finger grip, the physical capacity 
of the remaining fingers to grip with much force is 
greatly diminished and the recruit cannot grip tightly 
with these fingers even if he would. To those who are 
familiar with the anatomy of the hand this will be 
evident, but it is easily demonstrable by actual trial. 
We have here another illustration of how carefully 
the Relaxing Trigger has been developed and of how 
it is in harmony with every psychological and anatom- 
ical peculiarity of the individual. 

The act of firing is a complex one. The most im- 
portant factor — that of the use of the entire trigger 
hand — has never before received scientific analysis. 
The Relaxing Trigger is not the result of empirical 
experimentation, but it is the embodiment of the con- 
clusions reached by abstract analysis and discrimina- 
tion, although, as in all inventions, certain empirical 
ameliorations were perfected after the early models 
were produced. 

The Safety Latch — Military Model 

The new safety latch for the Relaxing Trigger is 
shown at "B." When this latch is placed parallel 
with the longer dimension of the stock, as shown, the 
rifle is at the "safe"; that is, the rifle is loaded and 
locked, and no manipulation of the trigger will dis- 
charge it. The safety latch in this position cannot be 
placed in the position of "ready" without movements 
of volition. When moved up and turned sideways, 
which is done instantaneously, the rifle is at the posi- 



20 

tion of "ready"; that is, loaded and ready to fire. 
Moving the safety latch up and pulling back the trig- 
ger will not discharge the piece. The safety latch 
must be moved up and then turned to the left (for 
right-handed men, to the right for left-handed men), 
which cannot take place accidentally. 

About two men per hundred are left-handed, and 
this safety latch has been placed in its position in 
order to make no special training necessary for the 
left-handed man, who already has enough disadvan- 
tages, as the bolt is on the right-hand side. Should a 
man lose his thumb, his efficiency as a rifleman is in 
no way impaired, which would not be the case were 
the latch controlled by the thumb. This is only one 
of the many evidences of the painstaking care with 
which this invention has been presented. 

To fire the rifle, the trigger "T" is pulled against 
the pressure of a spring inside the stock. It is imma- 
terial how this is done. It should, however, be done 
quickly to save time, as the aim is not effected. 

The trigger may be jerked back with impunity. 

So long as the trigger is held back against the re- 
sistance of this spring, the rifle cannot be discharged. 

During the act of aiming, the soldier has no anxiety 
about "trigger squeeze" ; he can concentrate his entire 
attention upon the act of aiming. 

Let us reverence our ancestors as admonished by 
Holy Writ, but let us not reject an idea because great- 
grandpapa had not heard of it. 



21 



Aiming 

When the aim is accurately adjusted, the soldier 
then allows his trigger finger to yield smoothly to the 
tension of the compressed trigger, and while so doing 
the rifle is discharged. This movement of relaxation 
need not take over half a second, but can be made 
almost instantaneously without impairing the accuracy 
of the shot. 

The relaxation may also be made as slowly as 
desired. To get the best results, do not make several 
successive movements of relaxation, as it is unneces- 
sary. This action is so smooth that it is impossible 
to tell the precise moment when the discharge will 
take place. 

This constitutes a great advantage, as the constant 
endeavor of instructors has been to have the rifleman 
acquire a forefinger technique that will permit him to 
discharge his rifle, equipped with the present trigger, 
so that the exact moment of discharge cannot be fore- 
told. 

This relaxation requires no muscular force nor 
mental effort, the aim is merely maintained while the 
trigger finger is relaxed, or, in other words, allowed 
to yield to the force of the compressed trigger. There 

Relax and rest, tense and you worry. This ex- 
plains the principle in a nutshell. Relaxing the body 
relaxes the mind, and the relaxed mind concentrates 
to better advantage. 



22 



is, therefore, no tendency to flinch or pull the rifle to 
one side, thus deranging the aim, which is a prolific 
source of error with the present (compression) type 
of trigger. 

The relaxation may be made quickly as long as it 
is done smoothly. It should, of course, be done 
smoothly to get the best results. 

This movement of relaxation is distinctly percep- 
tible and is in no sense like a hair trigger. It can be 
made as great as desired. 

Trigger Action 

The trigger is a positive action trigger. When the 
rifle is cocked, the trigger may be compressed to over 
eighty per cent, of its movement relaxed without dis- 
charging the rifle, as the relaxing mechanism is not 
engaged. 

During this time but little resistance is encountered, 
but during the last twenty per cent, the resistance 
suddenly and perceptibly increases. It is then that 
the relaxing mechanism is engaged. After this is 
done, relaxing the trigger will discharge the rifle. 
The amount of relaxation is distinctly perceptible, 
but may be made with rapidity as long as it is done 

To make the Relaxing Trigger safe a mechanism 
had to be produced as resilient as the human finger 
and as precise in its functioning, — a hard task, but 
successfully accomplished. 



23 

smoothly. The safety latch may be applied at any 
time prior to discharge, and, as stated elsewhere, 
the trigger is in no sense a hair trigger, which is 
dangerous. 

The finger next to the trigger finger is against the 
stock and near the trigger guard during the act of 
aiming, as is the case with the present trigger. 

When the rifle is at the "safe," as above defined, 
the safety latch "B" fills up most of the space between 
the trigger guard and the finger guard "C." The 
attention of the rifleman is thus attracted to the fact 
that the rifle is at the "safe," and in this position the 
rifle cannot be discharged. When the safety latch 
"B" is pushed up, the rifle is still at the safe. Such a 
movement might easily be made under excitement. 
When, however, the safety latch is moved up and then 
turned to the left or right as a man is right or left 
handed, the mechanism engages, due to these two 
motions, so as to bring the rifle to the "ready." The 
finger next to the trigger finger can now grasp the stock 
near the trigger guard, which the safety latch pre- 
vented when it was in the position of "safe." 

Cease Firing 

When the trigger is fully compressed, relaxing it 
will discharge the rifle. Should the command "cease 
firing" be given while in this position, the following 
is the procedure: 

Maintain the pressure on the trigger with the trigger 



24 

finger. The back of the finger next to the trigger 
finger is near or touching the safety latch and behind 
it. Bring this finger in front of the safety latch, pull 
both fingers backward, and while so doing do not 
relax the trigger finger. The safety latch will then 
be at the "safe" ; that is, parallel to the longer dimen- 
sion of the stock. No difficulty has been experienced 
in doing this. A man with hard hands and stiffened 
fingers does it as easily as a youth who has never done 
hard manual labor and whose fingers are consequently 
flexible. 

It is vital to the successful employment of the relax- 
ing trigger that the operation of "cease firing" should 
be easily and rapidly performed without any danger 
of discharging the rifle or other firearm. 

This result has been absolutely attained, even when 
heavy gloves are worn. 

When the safety latch has been brought to the posi- 
tion of "safe," the trigger can then be relaxed with- 
out discharging the rifle, which is then at the "safe," 
that is, loaded and locked. 

The rifle is now in the same position that it was 
before preparing to fire, and to fire again, the rifle 
must be first brought to the position of "ready," as 
described above. 

The Relaxing Trigger marks an epoch in rifle, 
pistol, and revolver fire — the beginning of a new era, 
ivith skill within the reach of all. 



25 



Elimination of Present Safety Latch 

It will be seen that the present safety latch or lock 
"A" may be discarded, as it has no part in the func- 
tions above described. 

The Relaxing Trigger costs in quantity production 
but little more than the present trigger mechanism, 
and the cost of the present safety latch should be de- 
ducted, which makes the cost of the Relaxing Trigger 
about the same as the present inefficient compression 
trigger. 

The Sporting Model, with Automatic Safety 

The description given in the preceding pages is of 
the military model. The sporting model differs only 
in the arrangement of the safety latch. 

The safety latch on the military model cannot be 
applied when the rifle is in the safe position by a 
single movement. Two movements are required: the 
first motion is up; the second motion is to the left or 

The most annihilating effect of infantry fire the 
world has ever known can be attained by the Relaxing 
Trigger. Under exciting conditions, the present type 
of trigger is apt to result in high and consequently 
ineffective fire effect; with the Relaxing Trigger, 
excitement must result in lower fire in action. This 
is the result every one who directs collective fire en- 
deavors to attain. 

It is accomplished by the Relaxing Trigger. 



26 

right (according as a man is right or left handed). 
In excitement an individual may make one movement 
suddenly or a composite movement, but never makes 
two absolutely different movements. 

The safety latch of the military model was con- 
structed with this idea in mind, so that the rifle would 
be at the "safe" normally and could not be brought 
to the "ready" except by movements of deliberate 
volition. 

To execute these two movements takes only about a 
quarter of a second, but, as they are distinct, any 
single movement of excitement will not bring the rifle 
from the safe position. 

Automatic Safety Latch 

Description of Automatic Safety Latch for the Re- 
laxing Trigger (Sporting Model) produced in com- 
pliance with the suggestion of Major General 
Leonard Wood, U.S.A. 

Immediately in rear of the trigger bow is a latch 
movable to and fro into the stock. This safety latch 
is held immovable when the rifle is locked, and no 
manipulation of the trigger can result in discharge. 

When it is desired to bring the rifle to the position 
of "ready" a small cam is touched and the automatic 
safety can then be moved. 

The rifle is carried "locked" only when on the 
march with the rifle loaded, as is now the case with 
the present type of compression trigger. 

To fire, the rifle if locked is brought to the "ready" 



27 

in about one-eighth of a second. It is then brought to 
the shoulder, and while holding it in this position 
the automatic safety will be engaged without any 
effort of volition on the part of the rifleman. The 
trigger is then retracted, even jerked back, and no 
discharge can take place. Aim is then taken, and the 
trigger finger is allowed to yield to the tension of the 
compressed trigger. During this time the mind of 
the rifleman is occupied only with maintaining the 
alignment, and the discharge will take place on the 
forward movement of the trigger. 

Should it be desired to execute "cease firing" after 
the trigger has been retracted, all that has to be done 
is to extend the middle finger towards the trigger 
guard and the rifle will be absolutely safe, for the 
automatic safety is then no longer sustained in the 
operative position. The rifle cannot be fired unless 
this safety latch is held up (that is, pushed into the 
stock) during the entire time the trigger moves for- 
ward. 

Both in firing and in ceasing firing the middle 
finger functions exactly as the trigger finger does now 
with the present compression trigger, and the action 
is just the same. It does not matter with this safety 
latch what the trigger finger has done, is doing, or is 
going to do. When the automatic safety is released 
by extending the middle finger the rifle cannot be 
fired, which is exactly analogous to the use of the 
trigger finger with the present type of compression 
trigger. 



28 

Should the Relaxing Trigger be retracted and the 
rifle then dropped from the hands, it will not be dis- 
charged, as the automatic safety would be no longer 
sustained in operative position. The same thing ob- 
tains if the rifle is jerked from the hands of the rifle- 
man while in the act of aiming. This was not the 
case with the former model designated previously as 
the military model, and has caused this sporting 
model to be preferred by many officers for military 
use. 

After firing, if an advance is to be made, the rifle 
is loaded and the automatic safety is then locked in 
position. While in this position no movement of the 
trigger will discharge the rifle, just as is the case with 
the present mechanism, except that it can be locked 
and unlocked in about one-quarter the time now neces- 
sary. 

Variations 

The Relaxing Trigger can be arranged in many 
different ways. The Eureka Arms Company can 
place a Relaxing Trigger upon any small arm, rifle, 
revolver, shotgun, or automatic. 

Any change that the individual may desire can 
be effected, but the trigger will always operate by 
relaxation. 



29 

CHAPTER III 

CLAIMS 

The Relaxing Trigger has been subjected to exhaus- 
tive tests on the target range, where it has evoked 
enthusiasm. Its principle is endorsed by instructors 
and good shots from privates to general officers. 

One instance among many may be cited : With this 
device at Fort Banks on June 13, 1918, a soldier, who 
had never qualified in several seasons, made 23 in 
five shots at both slow and rapid fire at 200 yards. 
He had never seen the Relaxing Trigger before, and 
was instructed in its use for only a few minutes. 

Among the greatest advantages the Relaxing Trig- 
ger presents, the following are the most important: 

1. The average recruit can be trained in one-half 
the time that it would take with the present arm. 

2. Increased accuracy in both slow and rapid fire 
will be attained by eliminating the fault of flinching 
entirely, as well as any tendency to derange the aim 
by an improper manner of squeezing the trigger. In 
firing at a moving target, the Relaxing Trigger is 
especially valuable, as the alignment of the sights can 
be maintained on the target and the piece discharged 

Greater rapidity and greater accuracy are attained 
by the Relaxing Trigger. 



30 

without deranging the aim at the moment of discharge. 
This is a great advantage for a sharpshooter in an 
advanced post. 

3. With this device any healthy and intelligent 
person should become a good shot, as the flinching and 
trigger troubles we now have to contend with are elim- 
inated. 

4. It requires but a few minutes' instruction for a 
man trained to use the present style of compression 
trigger to become adept with the Relaxing Trigger. 

5. In firing from an unstable platform, as a ship, 
boat, or aeroplane, the errors due to having to pull 
the trigger smoothly are overcome, as the relaxation 
in such cases can be practically instantaneous with- 
out deranging the aim. 

6. Under excitement, men fire high when using a 
compression trigger. With the Relaxing Trigger, ex- 
citement might induce a slight movement of the trigger 
finger downward, thus depressing the muzzle. Excite- 
ment would tend, therefore, to make the fire low 
instead of high. This advantage is so obvious that it 
is not considered necessary to do more than call atten- 
tion to it and to the saving in ammunition and its cost. 

7. This trigger is adaptable to any firearm. It 
involves no change in the manufacture of the firearm, 

The Relaxing Trigger has five principal advantages : 

(1) instruction can be given in one-fourth the time; 

(2) greater accuracy; (3) greater rapidity; (4) low 
fire in battle instead of high fire; (5) greater safety. 



31 

as it affects only the trigger mechanism. These 
claims have already been conclusively demonstrated 
on target ranges. 

The Only Positive Determination of 
these Claims 

There is only one way that these claims can be sub- 
stantiated; that is, in competitive test with the old or 
compression trigger on the target range. 

Their validity cannot be controverted by any ab- 
stract study or examination. These claims are either 
true or they are in error. No middle ground is pos- 
sible. Officers and enlisted men with years of experi- 
ence on the target range have been convinced after 
seeing the results gained by the use of the Relaxing 
Trigger. 

One objection to the Relaxing Trigger is worthy of 
note, because it appears valid to those who have not 
seen it in use. It is that in quick shooting in emer- 
gency two movements are necessary — that of compres- 
sion and then that of relaxation. How is it, then, 
that the Relaxing Trigger will not be in such cases 
slower in operation, because two movements cannot 
be made as rapidly as one, and the compression type 
of trigger requires but one movement of squeezing 
or pulling the trigger? The answer is that the muzzle 
of the revolver, rifle, or other firearm even in the most 
rapid firing must be pointed in the direction of the 
object it is desired to hit. While doing so with the 



32 

Relaxing Trigger the trigger is pulled back long 
before the muzzle is pointed in the direction desired, 
so that at the moment of discharge only one thing 
remains to be done. 

In the case of the compression type of trigger it 
must be pulled or squeezed with all the disadvantages 
characteristic of this method, while with the Relaxing 
Trigger but one thing remains — relaxation with its 
incomparably better results. In this case at the 
desired instant of discharge there is but one thing to 
do. The most conclusive answer is, however, that of 
actual use, which removes all doubt. 



33 



CHAPTER IV 
PSYCHOLOGICAL DIFFICULTY 

All psychologists are agreed that the human mind 
cannot concentrate on two disparate ideas* simultane- 
ously. The compression trigger now used required 
this. The Relaxing Trigger demands but one mental 
effort at a time. 

The act of alignment in aiming and that of uni- 
formly squeezing a trigger against compression are 
ideas that are entirely disparate in essence. 

Medical Opinion 

One of the most eminent neurologists in the United 
States agrees with the following statement: It is a 
principle of psychology, that when the mind has a 
definite end which is to be accomplished by the vari- 
ous actions of the senses under the power of the will, 
the less the mind has to concentrate itself on the 
individual actions, and the more mechanical or sub- 
conscious they can be made, the better will be the 
result provided they function as required. 

The Relaxing Trigger is one of the few inventions 
in which the latent psychological power of the indi- 
vidual has been the guiding thought as well as every 

* Disparate idea. Logic. Having no definitive relation in com- 
mon, connected only by some notion of great generality. 



34 

anatomical and neurological condition that affects the 
intimate co-ordination of mind and muscle in the 
complex act of aiming and firing. 

Exact Definition of the Present Difficulty 

A definition of what is necessary for good firing 
with a compression trigger has been attempted. It is 
as follows: Careful aim must be taken, involving 
mental concentration in sighting, and at the same time 
a progressive pressure must be brought to bear on the 
trigger, which involves a purely muscular sense, 
operating against a constantly increasing resistance. 
A disparate idea is thereby evoked, and as soon as the 
mind becomes conscious of the trigger squeeze, the 
aim is lost, or at least impaired. 

The two senses of sight and feeling must be 
caused to synchronize so perfectly that they 
will be brought to simultaneous co-ordination 
at the precise moment of the culmination of 
the effort desired. 

Only a few men can do this. Otherwise every man 
of intelligence would be an expert rifleman. 

With the invention of the Relaxing Trigger, ex- 
pertness in marksmanship is only a measure of intelli- 
gence. All nerve strain and adverse psychological 
conditions are at once and for all entirely eliminated. 

Infantry is still the most numerous arm of an army. 
Our infantry deserves the best. The Relaxing Trigger 
is the best trigger. 



35 



Are the difficulties of the compression 
trigger exaggerated? 

This can only be answered in the negative. Other- 
wise any intelligent man could become an expert rifle- 
man. Marksmanship now does not vary directly with 
the intelligence of the man. 

Many men of brilliant mentality can never become 
good marksmen. 

With the Relaxing Trigger, marksmanship is deter- 
mined only by mentality, as all nervous strain is elim- 
inated. 



36 



CHAPTER V 

HOW ALL THESE DISADVANTAGES ARE 
OVERCOME BY THE RELAXING TRIGGER 

The rifle is at the "safe" ; that is, loaded and locked. 
The new safety latch "L" is in the middle position. 
It cannot be moved from this position except by a 
movement of volition. It is easily moved, however, 
to the position of "ready" by pressing it up and then 
turning it sideways. This is done instantaneously. 

The rifle is now at the "ready." Aim is taken, the 
trigger is then pulled, drawn back, or, even with im- 
punity, jerked back to its maximum point of compres- 
sion. The aim is now adjusted to the finest point 
without having to think of anything else. This done, 
when it is desired to discharge the piece, the aim is 
maintained and the trigger finger is allowed to yield 
smoothly to the force of the compressed trigger and 
the rifle discharged. 

Relaxing is easy, as it involves no progressive mus- 
cular strain, no disturbance of mental concentration 
in aiming, and there is no tendency to pull to one side 
or to flinch. 

The Relaxing Trigger is the triumph of abstract, 
scientific reasoning applied to the attainment of con- 
crete, practical results. Careful reading of this book- 
let will make this plain. 



37 

Flinching is a movement of muscular contraction 
and cannot take place while relaxing only the fore- 
finger, as contrasted with compression, which is apt to 
involve many muscles. 

The method of relaxation is the only correct physio- 
logical, psychological, and neurological way, as the 
mind cannot concentrate perfectly on two disparate 
ideas at one time. 

A recruit is apt to grasp the stock too tightly. This 
subjects the muscles of the entire hand to too great an 
initial pressure. As a consequence, individual flexi- 
bility of the fingers for the simplest anatomical 
reasons is considerably diminished. Now in the act 
of aiming it becomes necessary to compress the trigger 
finger. This finger has now lost individual flexibility 
to a large extent, and in compressing the trigger the 
entire group of muscles of the hand is compressed 
still more. This obtains more or less with even good 
shots and is why so much practice is necessary for 
them in preparing for competitions. 

The contraction of the muscles of the trig- 
ger FINGER SETS UP MUSCULAR TREMOR, AS THE RADI- 
ATION OF MOTOR IMPULSE FROM THE MUSCLE IT IS 
DESIRED TO CONTRACT SPREADS SYMPATHETICALLY TO 
THE OTHER MUSCLES HAVING SIMILAR ACTION WHICH 
HAVE ALREADY BEEN CONTRACTED. 

This phenomenon is increased under excitement. 

Relaxation now being applied to firearms, for the 
first time the same result will follow. 



38 

A naturally voluntary movement cannot be made 
subconscious without long and patient training. This 
is precisely what forefinger technique is, which is in- 
dispensable with a compression trigger. 

Results Obtained by the Use of the 
Relaxing Trigger 

The Relaxing Trigger does away with all of these 
disadvantages. The claims here made have been 
amply borne out by tests on the target range and have 
been marvelled at by those officers who have seen 
them. 



39 



CHAPTER VI 

ADAPTABILITY TO OTHER FIREARMS AND 
TO GOVERNMENT REQUIREMENTS 

The Relaxing Trigger is adaptable by suitable mod- 
ifications to any semi-automatic firearm; that is, to 
any firearm that is discharged by a separate compres- 
sion of the trigger for each shot. Therefore it is 
adaptable to any firearm with which the soldier is 
armed that answers the above description, such as the 
Springfield Rifle, model 1903, the modified Enfield, 
model 1917, the automatic pistol of various makes, 
and the revolver. 

The following list of requirements is taken from 
the list of requirements issued by the Ordnance De- 
partment of the United States Government for the 
guidance of inventors in perfecting a design of semi- 
automatic shoulder rifle. The requirements not perti- 
nent to the trigger mechanism have been omitted as 
not applicable to the present subject. 

The Relaxing Trigger answers every individual 
need and peculiarity of the American soldier as 
observed on the target range for over twenty years. 

For him it was made. By him it should be used. 



40 



The Requirements 
(h) The trigger pull 
(measured at middle point 
of bow of trigger) to be not 
less than 3 nor more than 
4!/2 pounds. 

(i) An efficient safety or 
locking device must be pro- 
vided permitting the rifle to 
be carried cocked and with 
cartridge in barrel without 
danger. The rifle should re- 
main cocked and ready for 
firing when the safety device 
is unlocked. 



(k) The rifle must be cap- 
able of being used either as 
an automatic loading rifle or 
as an ordinary magazine 
rifle, the change from one 
to the other being simply 
and rapidly effected. The 
rifle must function correctly 
as an automatic rifle, both 
with and without the bayonet 
fixed. When used as a mag- 
azine rifle, the bolt must 
work freely by hand without 
excessive force having to be 
used. 



How t::e Relaxing Trigger 
Meets these Demands 
(h) Trigger pull 4 pounds 
normal, adjustable if re- 
quired. 



(i) Positive safety lock 
against accidental discharge. 
Easily and rapidly applied. 
This is vitally necessary, as 
relaxing of the trigger will 
discharge the rifle. When it 
is applied the rifle is re- 
turned to the "safe," that is, 
the safety latch must be 
moved to the position of 
"ready," the trigger com- 
pressed and then relaxed to 
lire. 

(k) The Relaxing Trigger 
interferes with none of these 
functions, as it is concerned 
with the trigger mechanism 
only and involves no other 
change in the rifle. 



41 



(/) The firing mechanism 
should permit the recocking 
of piece without moving bolt 
in case of misfire. 

(o) Good balance and 
shape adapted to shoulder 
firing. 



(/) The striker may be re- 
cocked without unlocking 
bolt in case of misfire. 



(o) Balance and shape of 
the service rifle are not af- 
fected. 



(p) Not to be automatic, (p) A separate pull of 

.e., the rifle is to fire only the trigger for each shot. It 

one shot for each pressure of is just that class of firearms 

that the Relaxing Trigger is 
made for. 

(q) The weight of the rifle 
is the same. 



the trigger. 



(q) The weight of the 
rifle, without bayonet and 
with magazine empty, must 
not exceed 9% pounds. 



It will be seen from the above that the Relaxing 
Trigger conflicts with none of the government require- 
ments. It adds the incomparable benefit of eliminat- 
ing completely the human error inseparable from the 
present compression trigger. 



You relax the trigger, the gun does the rest. 



42 

CHAPTER VII 

PROPOSED TEST 

The following test is proposed as an adequate 
means of effectually determining the merits of the 
Relaxing Trigger as compared with the compression 
trigger. 

Let two groups of men with no previous experience 
in firearms be selected from recruits. Let some one 
who is familiar with the Relaxing Trigger instruct 
the first group in target practice to include all ranges 
as prescribed and in both slow and rapid fire and in 
field firing. The instructor is not to have any assist- 
ant instructors, but do all the instruction himself, 
although he may select from the recruits of his group 
those who show adaptability to assist him. The idea 
is that of the group selected not a single man will 
have had previous experience with any firearms and 
will therefore learn everything from the instructor. 

While this is being done the second group is to be 
instructed similarly in the use of the compression 
trigger. 

Then the two groups should shoot in competition 
in the prescribed course and in field firing. 

The results will be that the first group will be 
ready to shoot for record much sooner than the second 
group and in every class of fire will show superior 
results. 



43 

This is only a suggestion. The officers at the 
School of Musketry of the Army at Camp Benning, 
Georgia, include many of the best individual shots 
and instructors in the service, and whatever the pre- 
cise method that may be employed, there is no doubt 
that it will be both thorough and exact. 



Our Conception of Rifle Fire 

The American conception of rifle fire is superior to 
that of some foreign armies. We expect men to hit 
their targets. Our theory of fire is based on the idea 
that adequate target practice will cause riflemen to 
hit their objective in battle; that the excitement of 
battle will not result in loss of individuality nor 
result in a more or less undisciplined mass fire. 

The Relaxing Trigger is a device that makes good 
shots of men who have been unable to become so. 

It stimulates individuality and is a wonderful aid 
to the nervous man, while his more phlegmatic brother 
will encounter no disadvantages but will also find his 
marksmanship improved. 

With the compression trigger three things are neces- 
sary, viz.: take up the slack; make the first pressure, 
applying most of the force; and third, the final 
squeeze. With the Relaxing Trigger there is but one 
thing to do — relax. 



44 



CHAPTER VIII 

What follows is called "A Vision of the Future." 
While this part of the book is imaginative, there is 
nothing therein that is not a logical deduction from 
what has preceded, and it is presented with the aim 
of giving a vivid picture of the potentialities of one 
of the most epoch-making inventions in the history 
of firearms. 

A Vision of the Future 

A great offensive. An American regiment finds 
itself beyond the supporting power of its artillery. 
The immediate objective that has been carried is now 
ordered to be held at all costs. Airplanes have re- 
ported the enemy has massed four regiments against 
our one, deployed on the edge of a small grove. 

The position has suddenly become a key-point of 
great local importance. 

The attack will not long be delayed. One of our 
advanced patrols has descried a hostile scout running 
rapidly to cover four hundred yards away. A single 
steel messenger of death overtakes him. His dis- 
patches are brought back. They confirm the previous 

Excitement tends to cause spasmodic contraction 
of muscles. Relaxing tends to soothe and rest the 
muscles and has a marked steadying effect. 



45 

reports. The ground to the front is alive with the 
fog of gray uniforms of the enemy. 

Wave after wave of attacking troops press forward. 
Our fire is very low. Few shots go high. The line 
of advance is clouded with dust from our rifle fire. 

The gray lines continually reinforced press on with 
an obstinate and valiant courage. The ground is 
rough and broken to the front and affords much cover. 

There has been no time to clear a large field of 
fire. Before our position only a small belt has been 
cleared. The hostile line pushes forward in spite of 
losses that would stagger any but picked troops. The 
air is vibrant with the hiss of bullets. 

The edge of the cleared space has been gained. 

No word of command can be heard. 

The infantry fire on both sides quickens until the 
air is filled with one long sibilant shriek. From the 
right flank of the enemy the volume of fire increases 
till the scream of sound changes to one continuous 
roar. 

Our line is equally engaged throughout. Every 
man, with nerve tensed, is firing with the greatest 
rapidity. For an instant the fire on the left of the 
enemy's line slackens and then follows a horde of 

With the compression trigger, three things are neces- 
sary, viz.: take up the slack; make the first pressure, 
applying most of the force; and third, the final 
squeeze. With the Relaxing Trigger there is but one 
thing to do — relax. 



46 

gray bodies advancing at a run, their rush covered by 
the augmented fire from their right. 

Now is the critical moment. Will our lines hold? 
All our reserves have already been thrown into the 
firing line. The gray line quickens its pace. It 
wavers. Scores of men pitch forward, but still the 
line comes on. Our fire grazes the earth. No shots 
go high. A stream of bullets are parallel with the 
ground. Through this vortex of death no troops can 
pass. 

The enemy breaks for cover to the farther end of 
the cleared strip. 

Another charge is attempted, and another, but still 
the same result. A grazing fire in which no shots go 
high covers the front of our position before which 
nothing can stand, an annihilating effect of infantry 
fire that the world has never seen. The gray line 
shaken by the fruitless slaughter retires to the com- 
parative shelter of the broken ground. 

Our position has been held according to orders. 



Any firearms in which high fire is practically 
eliminated must produce a result startling in the ex- 
treme, for the contagion of excitement, when the Re- 
laxing Trigger is used, causes fire to be lower as 
excitement increases, thus absolutely reversing what 
has come to be considered an adverse psychological 
condition. In this hour, the most critical period in 
the world's history, such a possibility is at least 
worthy of the most thorough analysis. 



47 



CHAPTER IX 
MECHANICAL CONSIDERATIONS 

In aiming, the trigger finger must move. This 
movement is the great difficulty when employing the 
compression method. No difficulty attends it when 
using the relaxing method. 

Mechanically as well as psychologically the ad- 
vantage is with relaxation. With the compression 
trigger, no matter how evenly and slowly the trigger 
is compressed, when the sear is tripped, the residual 
momentum of the trigger finger, being suddenly 
relieved of the strain, is expended in the direction of 
the butt of the rifle and thus deranges the aim even 
with skilled men unless the greatest' care is taken. 

When two children are pulling against each other 
and one suddenly lets go, the other falls backward. 
The tendency of the compression trigger when the sear 
is released is to cause the trigger finger to go back- 
ward with a slight jerk at the moment of discharge, 
just as the child falls backward when the resistance is 
suddenly withdrawn. The residual momentum thus 
causes the rifle to move as the force of the trigger 
finger that has been slowly squeezing the trigger is 
suddenly released. With the Relaxing Trigger, when 
the sear is released, the trigger finger is moving for- 
ward, and the residual momentum is absorbed by the 



48 

trigger spring, and is furthermore in a forward direc- 
tion and does not move the rifle barrel. 



Penny Drill 

This difference is clearly exemplified by the exer- 
cise known as "penny drill," which the author used 
and developed in the instruction of troops with very 
gratifying results for many years. 

This is the way the exercise is performed: A soldier 
was required to aim carefully with an unloaded rifle 
while a comrade placed one of the large copper coins 
of the Philippines, about the size of a twenty-five cent 
piece, on the barrel of the rifle near the front sight. 
The requirement was that the soldier should squeeze 
his trigger ten times in succession so gradually and 
smoothly that the penny would not be dislodged by the 
impact of the firing pin when it was released. To do 
this ten successive times with the present type of com- 
pression trigger is by no means easy even by expert 
riflemen. With the Relaxing Trigger the same feat is 
performed with ease. This proves that the method of 
firing by relaxation certainly gives less vibration to 
the rifle (caused by the one firing) than with the 
method of compression. 



49 

CHAPTER X 

EYESIGHT 
The New Psychology 

The old idea of psychology considered the brain 
as a sort of nest of pigeon-holes in which were con- 
veniently tucked away the various thoughts and 
acquired forms of knowledge. The modern concep- 
tion, however, considers that every idea, every thought, 
every act, affects all others that are taking place 
simultaneously to a greater or less extent. 

Accordingly eye-strain in firing is not a totally sepa- 
rate thing from the feeling of the trigger squeeze on 
the trigger, but varies powerfully with it. Very few 
instructors have given much study to the eye and the 
way it functions, which is surprising. It merely 
illustrates the fact that the general tendency is to work 
out methods of instruction in any art by purely empir- 
ical methods. For a thorough understanding of all 
the principles affecting the theory on which the Relax- 
ing Trigger is constructed, an elementary acquaint- 
ance with the anatomy of the human eye is essential. 

With the compression trigger the human error is 
greater than any in the mechanism of the entire rifle: 
with the Relaxing Trigger the human error is reduced 
to an infinitesimal. 



50 



The Anatomy of the Eye 

To place such information before the reader, the 
following description of the functions of the eye is 
taken from "Psychology," by Professor William 
James of Harvard University: — 

"Accommodation. — The focussing or sharpening of 
the image is performed by a special apparatus. In 
every camera, the farther the object is from the eye 
the farther forward, and the nearer the object is to 
the eye the farther backward, is its image thrown. In 
photographers' cameras the back is made to slide, 
and can be drawn away from the lens when the object 
that casts the picture is near, and pushed forward when 
it is far. The picture is thus always kept sharp. But 
no such change of length is possible in the eyeball; and 
the same result is reached in another way. The lens, 
namely, grows more convex when a near object is 
looked at, and flatter when the object recedes. This 
change is due to the antagonism of the circular 'liga- 
ment' in which the lens is suspended, and the 'ciliary 
muscle.' The ligament, when the ciliary muscle is at 
rest, assumes such a spread-out shape as to keep the 
lens rather flat. But the lens is highly elastic; and 
it springs into the more convex form which is natural 

The principle of relaxation has beaten that of com- 
pression on every battlefield in the Middle Ages. The 
longbow fired by relaxation, the crossbow by com- 
pression. The longbow won. 



51 



to it whenever the ciliary muscle, by contracting, 
causes the ligament to relax its pressure. The con- 
traction of the muscle, by thus rendering the lens more 
refractive, adapts the eye for near objects ('accommo- 
dates' it for them, as we say) ; and its relaxation, by 
rendering the lens refractive, adapts the eye for dis- 
tant vision. Accommodation for the near is thus the 
more active change, since it involves contraction of the 
ciliary muscle. When we look far off, we simply let 
our eyes go passive. We feel this difference in the 
effort when we compare the two sensations of change." 
From the above quotation it is evident that the ciliary 
muscle is relaxed in aiming at any distance greater 
than a few yards. Now there should be nothing 
occurring in the act of aiming that will tend to contract 
the ciliary muscle, because if it contracts, we cannot 
focus on a distant object, and if any cause tends to 
make the muscle contract, it will require an effort to 
prevent it. 

When using the compression trigger, the tension on 
the trigger finger is in compression. The nerves 
transmitting this sensation enter the brain at a con- 
siderable distance from those of the eyesight, which 
enter the occipital orbit. There is, therefore, a dis- 
tinctly inharmonious relation between these sets of 
afferent nerves, and we have just seen that one sensa- 
tion affects another more or less sympathetically. 

With the Relaxing Trigger all this is changed. 
During the act of aiming, the nerves of the ciliary 
muscle remain relaxed as they should be, and there is 



52 

no subconscious effort made to maintain it in relaxa- 
tion, which is the case when the sensation of compres- 
sion of the trigger finger is transmitted to the brain, 
for this sensation, although transmitted to a different 
brain-centre, affects the eye subconsciously. 

When aiming with the Relaxing Trigger the nerves 
of the ciliary muscle remain in undisturbed relaxation 
and at the same time the finger muscles are relaxing. 
Here is harmony of effort, here is perfect rhythmic 
balance during the act. 

One cannot dance easily with a shoe weighing two 
pounds on one foot while its fellow is shod with one 
weighing a few ounces. This is obvious, yet just as 
difficult an effort is required of the marksman when 
using the compression trigger. 

The marksman is psychologically out of balance. 
He is required to do two acts at the same time that 
are entirely disparate; further, he is required to syn- 
chronize them so perfectly that they will be kept in 
exact co-ordination up to and during the culmination 
of the act resulting in the discharge of the rifle. 

With the Relaxing Trigger he is performing acts 
that are harmonious instead of disparate, that have 
no tendency to disturb each other. These conclusions 
have been amply proved by the results attained. 

It may be urged that the ciliary muscle, being 
an involuntary one, cannot cause ideation. Careful 
reflection on this subject will show that this is the case. 
When aiming at any distance over a few yards, con- 
siderable visual acuity is necessary; and if while so 



53 

aiming a book is suddenly presented to the eye at a 
distance of about fifteen inches, the eye will not im- 
mediately be able to read it. Accommodation in this 
case takes a few seconds, because the eye has been so 
intently focussed upon the distant object. Now with 
the compression trigger during this time the trigger 
finger is in compression, and the sensation of com- 
pression transmitted to the posterior surface of the 
brain interferes with the function of the ciliary muscle, 
which should be relaxed naturally and is relaxed 
while aiming. The transmission of the compressive 
strain of the trigger finger interferes with this, and an 
effort — subconscious, it is true, but still an effort — 
must be made to keep the alignment. With the Relax- 
ing Trigger there is no compressive sensation trans- 
mitted, the ciliary muscle is in no way interfered 
with; every nerve is working harmoniously in the 
same and not divergent ways. 

Countless neiv ideas that promise much blaze 
brightly forth, which on investigation prove as nebu- 
lous as the Milky Way. Actual use has shown con- 
clusively that the Relaxing Trigger is no chimerical 
dream — not the mental product of "one vertiginous 
whirl of phantasmagoric frenzy/ 9 but an evolution of 
principles ascertained by intense application to the 
problem of improving musketry fire in particular and 
firearms in general. 



54 



CHAPTER XI 

CRUDE ATTEMPTS TO APPROXIMATE 
RELAXATION 

The difficulties attending the trigger squeeze have 
long been known, in fact since the earliest firearms. 
It is interesting to examine the various ways made 
in the past to overcome this difficulty. The first is to 
use a very sensitive trigger, thus reducing the disturb- 
ing factor in the act of aiming. A sensitive trigger 
is dangerous at all times, and for military use imprac- 
tical. Another idea is to use a safety-set trigger. In 
such a mechanism there are two triggers. One has a 
pull of about three and a half pounds normally, and 
for normal firing this trigger is used. When, how- 
ever, it is desired to make it sensitive, an auxiliary 
trigger is pulled back which causes the first trigger 
to be very sensitive, that is, the trigger is then "set." 
It is now very sensitive, and a very delicate touch will 
fire the rifle. 

Another way used by "gun men" on the frontier 
was to remove the trigger, file the sear, and fire a 
revolver by holding back the hammer and letting it 
fall. This last is only crude relaxation. 

Such have been the attempts to do away with the 
trigger-squeeze difficulty. All this the relaxing trig- 
ger does, and moreover does it with superlative 
safety. 



55 

CHAPTER XII 
GRASPING THE STOCK 

If a very smooth and light trigger action is pro- 
vided, immediate and beneficial results are shown 
through increased ease of firing. The novice will 
not generally be able to avail himself of this advan- 
tage. A recruit always while aiming fires his rifle 
with at least a six-pound pull (often much more) in 
spite of the fact that mechanically it requires but little 
over three to effect discharge. The tendency of the 
recruit as observed for twenty years is to squeeze the 
rifle stock with prodigious force with the muscles of 
the hand instead of holding it moderately and by use 
of the biceps and deltoid muscles holding it securely 
against the shoulder, the error of holding the stock 
with too intense a pressure of the hand persists for a 
long time and is one of the most prolific causes of 
poor shooting. The reason is this: If the hand is 
compressed strongly while holding the stock, all the 
muscles of the hand tend to operate as one body. 
Individual sensitiveness and control of the trigger 

Future generations will wonder how it was that the 
principle of relaxation was not applied to the dis- 
charge of firearms, and will marvel at the lack of 
imagination that allowed the compression trigger to 
be used so long. 



56 

finger is lost, and although the trigger pull be very 
light, the novice cannot avail himself of this advan- 
tage; because if he is holding the stock with a hard 
and powerful grip, with the muscles of the hand and 
forearm rigid, the pressure exerted will be well over 
twenty or thirty pounds, and when it is desired to fire 
and cause the trigger to come back, instead of doing so 
with an effort of three pounds or a little more, the 
whole hand must operate, and the resulting force is 
the twenty or thirty pounds plus the three pounds and 
a fraction. Consequently a sensitive trigger does not 
for the novice overcome the difficulty'. It is highly 
desirable for military men to be able to teach recruits 
quickly, and the compression trigger when used takes 
much more time than the Relaxing Trigger for instruc- 
tion. This has been demonstrated by firing five thou- 
sand shots with several hundred men for a period of 
three months. Not once but repeatedly recruits who 
have never fired a shot in their lives have been able 
to shoot over forty-three out of fifty at three hundred 
yards. This time of instruction was divided into 
halves. Five minutes were spent on the aiming-bar 
in teaching alignment, and five in the manipulation of 
the Relaxing Trigger. Such a result is little short of 

The Relaxing Trigger is a mechanism built in con- 
formity with a natural law discovered by years of 
study. It transcends empiricism, being the result of 
a priori reasoning and thus ingeminates no errors of 
the past. 



57 

marvellous. This alone would justify the use of the 
Relaxing Trigger, for in time of emergency men can 
be brought to a proficient state of marksmanship in 
less than one-quarter the time now necessary. 

Flinching 

If the recruit flinches, high fire results with the 
present compression type of trigger, as it is axiomatic 
that the hasty pulling of the trigger by recruits and 
others in action results in the large percentage of high 
fire in battle. Now let us consider the Relaxing Trig- 
ger in this regard. If the trigger is jerked backward, 
the rifle will not be discharged, from the very nature 
of the Relaxing Trigger. If the relaxation is accom- 
plished smoothly (slow or fast), the accuracy of the 
shot is measured by only one factor, that of eyesight. 
The error due to the human element is eliminated. 

Should the relaxation be badly done (although 
there is little tendency to do so) by letting the whole 
hand move forward, the muzzle would be slightly 
depressed, and thus in excitement low fire would 
result instead of high fire. This is a tactical advan- 
tage of the utmost importance. It is a revolution, 
not an improvement, and makes possible the long- 
sought military ideal of preserving and keeping fire 
low in battle. 



58 

CHAPTER XIII 

SAFETY 

There remains one more consideration which must 
be examined with the greatest care, and it is to this 
that the attention of military men and sportsmen is 
now invited. The Relaxing Trigger, great as its ad- 
vantages are, and have been proved to be by the firing 
of thousands of shots, would still be of no utility unless 
its safety were equal to or greater than the safety of 
the compression trigger. There is no comparison. It 
is superlatively safer. As the electric arc can hardly 
be compared in brilliancy with a tallow dip, so the 
Relaxing Trigger cannot be compared in safety with 
the old archaic type of compression trigger. 

It was, however, a most difficult matter to make it 
safe, because the difficulties to be overcome were not 
mechanical but psychological. Many Relaxing Trig- 
gers were made that were apparently safe, but when 
tested under conditions where every effort was made 
to produce exciting influences they were found not to 

The Relaxing Trigger has no precedents in firearms. 
Inductive ratiocination as applied to the psychology 
of small physical movements has substantiated cer- 
tain principles. These are embodied in the Relax- 
ing Trigger. 



59 

be fool-proof, although at all times equally safe with 
the present type of compression trigger. This was 
not considered enough. As the Relaxing Trigger 
was incomparably more efficient than the compression 
type, it was not desired to rest until it was in each and 
every way superior to the older type. This result has 
been achieved. Out of over fifty different types a few 
were selected which have a far higher degree of safety 
than has ever before been attained. The one ex- 
plained in the text is considered by the author the one 
most suitable for military use, although one of the 
few mentioned might on extensive trial give as good 
results. All the devices experimented with were re- 
jected but five, of which the one now selected was 
chosen to place upon the service rifle for test. 

The mechanical construction had to be made sub- 
ordinate to the psychological requirements. It was 
necessary to study the anatomy of the hand, to devote 
much attention to a minute analysis of small physical 
movements and make the mechanism to correspond to 
what was possible for the mind to do when working 
under great stress. 

Such an analysis, so minute and painstaking, ex- 
tending over years, has, it is thought, not previously 
been attempted in order to fit a mechanism to the 
limitations of the mind. 

The precise way in which the Relaxing Trigger 
functions has been previously explained (pages 9 and 
10). Let us now consider its use in actual test on 
the target range. This comparative test has been had 



60 

many times and always with the same striking simi- 
larity of results. 

A Test of Safety 

A group of men are placed on the ground. One- 
half are armed with the rifle equipped with the old 
type, in which the human equation has been ignored. 
The other half were equipped with rifles fitted with 
the Relaxing Trigger, which is made to fit the mental 
peculiarities of the average individual. 

It was explained to all the men that the object was 
to ascertain how many men could execute "cease 
firing" when suddenly interfered with while in the act 
of aiming. The men were then ordered to fire at will 
in the prone position. While aiming, the men were 
interfered with by a sharp slap of the hand on the 
back or on the feet and in other ways. The men 
using the compression trigger did what any one 
naturally does when suddenly startled or struck, — 
they yielded to the natural tendency to contract the 
muscles, and the rifles were discharged. 

If a man has a newspaper in his hand and is sud- 
denly and rudely jostled in a crowd, his natural ten- 
dency is to make a spasmodic contraction of the 
muscles. His hand will involuntarily clench upon 
the paper. He will have no tendency to drop it. 
This is what occurred on the target range, resulting, 
as has been said, in the discharge of the rifle. 

The men armed with the Relaxing Trigger when 
interfered with were affected in the same way as the 



61 



other men. They yielded to the same involuntary 
instinct to compress what was in the hand. But note 
the different result. The Relaxing Trigger when com- 
pressed hy a convulsive movement is not discharged. 
The men were then able to apply the safety latch 
with ease while retaining the trigger compressed. 
The moment the safety latch is applied, the finger may 
be released. The trigger then moves forward but 
the rifle is not discharged. To fire again, the safety 
latch must be set to the ready and the trigger com- 
pressed as before. This safety latch can be operated 
by a single movement of one finger in less than one 
quarter of a second. On the sporting model the safety 
latch operates differently, as the withdrawal of the 
hand from the stock will render the rifle inoperative. 
In other words, just relax the grip and the rifle is safe. 



No man can grasp the ramifications of a new idea 
and the extent of its application in a moment. Reflect 
upon the Relaxing Trigger. The more one reflects 
upon it, the more varied are its benefits seen to be. 

A speck of mud on an eye-glass will obliterate the 
view of a mountain. Do not let the comparative near- 
ness, so to speak, of the compression trigger prevent 
visualizing the greater merits of the Relaxing Trigger. 



62 



CHAPTER XIV 
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 

Greater ease of instruction has been made evident, 
also greater accuracy, low lire in battle, and greater 
safety. At first thought the question of rapidity 
might seem to be decided adversely to the Relaxing 
Trigger. A natural consequence from certain prem- 
ises is not always immediately obvious. The Relax- 
ing Trigger is new, scientific; the compression trigger 
is archaic on the wrong psychological and neurolog- 
ical principles, but it has at present the transient 
advantage of being the only known type and of being 
entrenched behind the citadel of conventionality. But 
the world does move. And from its proud position of 
pre-eminence the compression trigger is doomed to 
fall. Error is dispelled by truth. 

Rapidity 

The Relaxing Trigger is more rapid, as determined 
by stop watches in the ratio of fifty-five to seventy. 
One minute and ten seconds are allowed by the pres- 
ent regulations to fire ten shots. Five cartridges are 
in a clip. When these are fired, a new clip must be 

Why has the Relaxing Trigger been received with 
a unanimity of opinion that is marvellous? MERIT. 



63 

inserted in the magazine and five more fired. To do 
this and aim well is not easy within the time allow- 
ance and requires considerable training. Let us com- 
pare rapid fire with the two types of triggers. 

With the compression type a shot is fired, the 
cartridge is then ejected and a new one is inserted, the 
rifle is then brought back to the aiming position, the 
aim is obtained, and then, and not before, trigger 
squeeze takes place. 

Sequence of Action 

With the relaxing type a shot is fired, the car- 
tridge is then ejected and a new one is inserted; then 
while the rifle is being brought to the aiming position 
the trigger is compressed, not slowly but rapidly, the 
return of the rifle to the aiming position and the com- 
pression of the trigger being done simultaneously. 
The moment the aim is attained superficially the trig- 
ger relaxation is begun, and during this relaxation the 
aim is continually improved, no attention being paid 
to the trigger finger. It is merely allowed to yield 
to the tension of the compressed trigger. The result 
is, there is nothing to disturb the aim at the moment of 
discharge. Five thousand shots have established the 
fact that to fire ten shots as described with the Relax- 
ing Trigger in the hands of novices requires but fifty- 
five seconds to secure good results. To do better 
firing than untrained men generally attain and do it in 
fifty-five seconds as contrasted with seventy is a result 



64 

that, it is believed, makes the claim of greater rapidity 
a reasonable one. 

These results taken together increase the tactical 
efficiency of the rifle fully one hundred per cent. 

THE RELAXING TRIGGER AS APPLIED TO 
REVOLVERS AND AUTOMATICS AND MA- 
CHINE GUNS 

A revolver equipped with the Relaxing Trigger 
functions as described below: — 

The safety latch lies under the thumb, as shown. 
To fire, jerk back the trigger and hold it back. Aim, 
and while so doing, allow the finger to relax to the 
tension of the spring; that is, allow the trigger to pull 
the finger with it. This relaxation may be fast or 
slow. The result is that there is no tendency to pull 
to one side, as is the case with the compression trigger. 
The same results follow as explained for the rifle. 

The safety latch operates thus. It is normally 
"ready," so that compressing the trigger and then 
releasing it will discharge the revolver. It is not 
necessary to do anything to the safety latch to fire. 
The revolver can always be used, just as is the case 
with the present type. 

When the trigger is compressed and it is not desired 
to fire, the thumb operates the safety latch, being im- 
mediately against it. The hammer will then be held 
in the retracted position, and the finger may be taken 
away, allowing the trigger to move forward. 



65 

The hammer is now in the cocked- position and so 
held by the safety latch. Of course it should now be 
possible to return the hammer to normal position with- 
out danger. This is done by pressing the safety latch, 
and the hammer will fall towards the loaded cartridge, 
but it will not strike it, as the hammer is prevented 
from going far enough forward for the firing pin to 
strike. In other words, it is stopped in the rebound 
position, as the present type now is. 

The greater rapidity of the Relaxing Trigger 
deserves a few words as applied to revolvers and auto- 
matics. With the present type of trigger the revolver 
must first be drawn from the holster or pocket, then 
the muzzle must be pointed in the direction of the 
target (whether the shot be deliberately aimed or fired 
from the hip, the muzzle must be directed to the 
assumed direction of the target), then the trigger is 
squeezed. 

With the Relaxing Trigger, when the revolver is 
drawn, the trigger should be compressed before it has 
entirely left the holster or pocket, and the moment 
the muzzle is in the desired direction the trigger is 
released. It is thus faster, as the drawing of the 
revolver and the compression of the trigger are simul- 
taneous, leaving only the releasing of the trigger to be 
performed instantaneously upon the first shot. 

No less an authority on the revolver than Mr. 
Sidney Sears of the St. Louis Police, holder of the 
world's record, was particularly impressed with the 
superior rapidity, especially on the first shot, and 



66 

with the fact that in firing in close quarters the inno- 
cent bystander would not be in the peril he now is 
from wild revolver shots, as with the Relaxing Trig- 
ger a miss cannot go as wild as with the present type, 
and a moving object can be hit with much greater ease. 

Automatic Pistols 

The same happy results are attained when the 
Relaxing Trigger is applied to an automatic pistol. 

When a novice first uses an automatic he is apt 
through excitement to squeeze his hand after firing 
the first shot, thus firing again. With the Relaxing 
Trigger the almost involuntary contraction of the hand 
of an inexperienced man will not discharge the pistol, 
and this momentary check prevents excitement. 

Theoretical objections must be disregarded after a 
mechanism has practically demonstrated by test what 
is claimed. The claims made for the Relaxing Trig- 
ger are not probabilities, but certainties, because they 
have followed actual use. 



Machine Guns 

A machine gun loads and fires automatically, and 
as the firing is not actuated by the hand after the first 
shot, it might be supposed that superior results would 
not in this case be attained. It is only on machine 
guns that the Relaxing Trigger has not been actually 
tried. Nevertheless, that which has been found to be 



67 

the case with the other firearms mentioned warrants 
a certain belief as to the results to be expected in this 
field, which it is thought will not be disappointed. 

Where the conclusions of theory have been in every 
instance confirmed by actual tests, it is more than 
probable that the theoretical conclusion will be found 
to obtain with machine guns. 

The first shot with machine guns is fired by the 
trigger being manipulated by human hands. It is 
thus subject to the same laws which have been proved 
to hold in the case of other firearms. If the first shot 
is poor in aim, due to flinching, all the others in the 
same burst are alike poor, while if the first is good, all 
the others follow. 

The Relaxing Trigger should therefore be useful on 
machine guns, as it has been found to be on other 
firearms. 

The Relaxing Trigger is the most efficient trigger 
in the world. Who says so? Every one who has 
seen it, from private soldiers to general officers in 
military life; in civil life, many experts, including the 
world 5 champion with the revolver. 



68 



CHAPTER XV 

CAUSATION AND SENSATION AS AFFECTED 
BY RELAXATION 

The simplest and most exact psychological explana- 
tion is the one afforded by considering causation and 
sensation as affected by relaxation. 

It is one of the marvellous dispensations of Provi- 
dence that sensation does not increase in the same 
ratio as the causative effect. If we reacted with 
equal intensity to every stimulating cause when 
repeated, whether of joy or sorrow, we should be 
destroyed by the very intensity of our own emotions. 
A disappointment continuously repeated and con- 
tinuously and progressively felt would finally compass 
an infinitude of suffering — the nadir of despair. On 
the other hand, a continuance of fortunate happenings 
would bring us to the heights of joy, to the zenith of 
exaltation. These successive and intensified feelings 
would be destructively exhausting. Mental balance 
would be lost. The successive changes from one 

Tensing the muscles inhibits every volitionary act, 
especially where a very nice adjustment is affected. 
Such an act is the act of aiming and firing. By using 
the Relaxing Trigger the sensation of being in tension 
will not be communicated to the mind of the firer. 



69 

extreme to the other would efface all powers of intelli- 
gent ratiocination. 

Sensation lags behind causation. Not only is this 
the experience of common sense, but the concurrent 
opinion of all psychologists. But as psychology has 
been considered an abstract study only and has never 
been adapted to mechanism to the same extent as now 
exemplified in the Relaxing Trigger (at least so far 
as the author has been able to ascertain), a short 
description of the effects of this law is given. 

If a man looks at the sun with the naked eye, intense 
discomfort will be felt. It will be some minutes 
before he can see about him as before. If his eyes 
are kept upon the sun for an hour, vision will be 
destroyed or seriously impaired during life. But in 
this latter case, after the first few minutes there is no 
more sensation although destruction of tissue is con- 
tinuously taking place. He is getting used to it. 
Now getting used to a thing means that the sensation 
is not as acute to the renewed stimulus as was at first 
the case. 

A savage, or other cruel degenerate, in torturing a 
fellow-being exults in the sufferings of the victim. 
As the torture is prolonged, the victim ceases to 
respond to pain inflicted in the same spot. His 
tormentor then selects a new place for "scientific vivi- 
section of one nerve till it is raw" and subjects it to 
the same treatment as before, whereupon the victim 
will writhe afresh. 

A pugilist who receives a large number of blows 



70 

on the nose does not feel the last one with the same 
intensity, although delivered with the same force as 
the first one. This is only what every one knows, and 
what is meant by Weber's tersely expressed law, Sen- 
sation Lags Behind Causation. 

Let us now examine this law as applied to an actual 
concrete problem — that of firing rifles. 



Weber's Law 

According to Weber's law, sensation increases by 
slower steps than its exciting cause increases. A com- 
parison of eye-strain and finger-strain may thus be 
made which illumines the subject powerfully. It is 
true, eye-strain and finger-strain cannot be expressed 
in terms of one another, but a comparison may be 
made, as horses cannot be equated with cows, but a 
comparison can be made between them. 



Fig.l 



y] 




A 




O / 2 3 ¥ cT 6 9 8 seconds 



Curve of eye-strain if sensation increased directly with causation 
for eisht seconds of time. 



71 



Let the horizontal line stand for the scale of intensi- 
ties of the stimulus to the eye in each second of time, 
and let the vertical lines represent the sensations cor- 
responding to the said stimuli. Rapid fire requires 
about six seconds for well-aimed shots. 

If every equal increment in the eye stimulus pro- 
duced an equal increment in the sensation produced 
on the eye, the abscissae and ordinates would be equal, 
and a right line would represent graphically the curve 
of eye sensation. At there would be no sensation; 
at 1 the causation would be represented by the abscissa 
1, the sensation by the ordinate S-l; at the second 
second the sensation would be represented by the 
abscissa 0-2 and the sensation by the ordinate S-2, 
and so on. The line of ordinates will rise evenly 
because by the hypothesis the ordinates (or sensa- 
tions) increase at the same rate as the absciss* 
(or stimuli) to which they severally correspond. But 
through the wise provision of Providence as expressed 
in the law, Sensation Lags Behind Causation, in 
nature the ordinates increase at a slower rate. If 
each step forward in the horizontal direction be equal 
to the last, then each step upward in the vertical 
direction will have to be somewhat shorter than the 
last. The curve of sensations will therefore be convex 
on top instead of straight; that is, there will arrive 
a time after which no further sensation is possible 
although the causative effect is still in operation, as 
explained in the illustrations of the man looking at 
the sun, the torturer and his victim, and the pugilist 



72 



receiving punishment. The point at which no further 
sensation is experienced is called the "acme." 



Fig. 2 




O / Z 3 V-S 6 7 8 



Curve of eyestrain as it really is, for eight seconds of time, show- 
ing sensation lags behind causation. 



Figure 2 represents the actual state of things, 
being the zero point of the stimulus, or the moment 
when the man begins to take sight. From here onward 
the sensation increases, but, as has been seen, it will 
increase less at each step, until at last, the "acme" 
being reached, the sensation line grows flat. 

Figure 3 shows the curve of finger-strain. The 
abscissae might be regarded as being of the same 
length, as in Figure 2, but for comparison should be 
increased at least half as much again, because the 
finger-strain is much harder on the mind than main- 
taining the alignment, for although the muscular ex- 
ertion is slight (especially with a very light trigger 
pull), the novice holds his rifle-stock too tightly, thus 
neutralizing this advantage, as has been shown; and 
even were it not the case, the mental effort is great to 
keep the finger moving with the utmost care. The 
volitional effort is therefore very great and entirely 



73 



disproportionate to the amount of foot pounds re- 
quired to pull the trigger. 

The curve representing finger-strain will therefore, 
like the one in Figure 2, be lower than a right line of 



Fig. 3 



S$ 




y 8 



Curve of finger-strain for eight seconds of time. 



forty-five degrees at all points; but as the units 
plotted for the abscissae are larger, the ordinates will 
be larger than in Figure 2 and the whole curve 
higher. 

Now a comparison of these two figures is very in- 
teresting. We see that there is an act to be performed 
involving two separate and disparate senses. Both 
of them must be brought to the "acme" at the same 
instant of the culmination of the act of firing, the 
moment of discharge. The finger-strain, the disturb- 
ing factor, is at its maximum at the same time the 
eye-strain attains its maximum. 



74 

Even if the values assigned to the abscissae in 
Figure 3 were the same as those employed for the 
eye, the fact would still be the same, that both factors 
must attain their maximum at the same instant. 

Such a method is a psychological absurdity, for the 
disturbing factor should be brought to a minimum 
at the critical moment. 




Fig. 4 



} pjpft 'Seconds in aiming 
9 eight seconds 
using trigger 



Curve of eye-strain, shown by full line 



Curve of finger-strain in compression, as in using the compression 
trigger, shown by dashed line . 

Curve of finger-strain under relaxation, as in using the Relaxing 
Trigger, shown by dotted line 

Note that in using the Relaxing Trigger there is no eye-strain when 
compressing the trigger, as this is done before aiming, and that at 
the moment of discharge of the rifle, eye-strain is at a maximum and 
finger-strain approximates zero, which is ideal. 

The opposite conditions obtain with the compression trigger where 
the disturbing factor, the finger-strain, is at a maximum when the 
eye-strain is greatest. This is the worst possible condition, and insep- 
arable from the compression trigger. 



75 

Consider Figure 4. The full line represents the 
eye-curve, the dashed line the curve of finger-strain 
when using the compression trigger, and the dotted 
line the curve of finger-strain when using the Relaxing 
Trigger. X represents the "acme." 

In firing by the relaxing method the man begins to 
aim and jerks the trigger back, holding it at the same 
time. At the first instant of aim his finger is in 
tension, but static tension, and has nothing to do 
towards causing the final act. As the eye-strain pro- 
gressively increases, the finger-strain progressively 
diminishes. 

This is the incontrovertible argument, as unanswer- 
able as the multiplication table, as it is obvious that 
when an act is composed of two factors it will be 
better performed when the disturbing factor is at a 
minimum. 



76 



CHAPTER XVI 
RELAXATION IN GENERAL 

In general terms, everybody knows that to be re- 
laxed is to be at ease, that it is easier to yield than 
to pull; nevertheless the genii of things as they are 
live in a strong citadel, and many are their worship- 
pers. A new idea must therefore combat the in- 
trenched position of conservatism; but as David of 
old slew Goliath, so will the Relaxing Trigger over- 
throw the compression trigger, which has done well, 
but a more efficient instrument is at hand, and in this 
modern age efficiency wins. 

In Other Professions 

The useful effects gained by the repose and con- 
centration of relaxation are not limited to the Relax- 
ing Trigger. Other professions make use of the 
principle. There is a constant tendency of the age 
to employ this principle, although the attempt has 
been, on the whole, subconscious rather than active, 
for the full realization of the principle has not been 
understood. The author has spent nearly twenty years 
studying the adaptation of this principle in various 
ways. Its further adaptation after the surprising re- 
sults of the Relaxing Trigger are known will have a 



77 

profound effect on our industrial life when it is 
thoroughly realized that a machine should be made 
not only for mechanical efficiency, but to fit the 
psychological limitations of the user. 

Relaxation in Pugilism 

This may appear peculiar, yet in no sport is re- 
laxation more efficient. The late Robert Fitzsimmons, 
one of the most remarkable men in all fistiana, was 
the one who first directed the author's attention to 
the increased value of precision in movement and 
aim effected by relaxing. This resulted in a study 
of this subject which has produced the Relaxing 
Trigger. 

Fitzsimmons was not a man who had any higher 
education, but had a thorough grammar-school edu- 
cation which had been fortified by no little reading 
and an amazing power of observation and concen- 
tration. He was a most thorough and analytical stu- 
dent of his profession, and what he had learned was 
not information gained by mere empirical experi- 
ment, but proceeded from very patient analysis. 

He said on one occasion that in striking a blow 
the most important thing was to land it, then to land 
it hard. He was celebrated for striking comparatively 
few blows — but what "wollops" they were! 

His judgment of distance and accuracy of delivery 
were his two great assets aside from his terrific force. 

His idea was that one can aim a blow with pre- 



78 

cision and speed if the muscles of the hand are not 
in tension while delivering the blow. His instructions 
were: "Always lead with the hand shut but never 
tightly clenched. By so doing you can aim and hit 
just where you want. As you are about to land, clench 
the fist and throw the shoulder behind the blow. If 
you start the blow with the hand clenched hard, you 
will not have control of the direction." 

He illustrated this by having the author put on an 
eight-once glove and strike rapidly at a mark on the 
wall with the hand clenched hard and fast. The mark 
was frequently missed. The next step was to direct 
that the blows be struck with the hand held shut but 
without any muscular tension. The result was sur- 
prising, — every blow without effort struck the mark. 

To the inquiry why this was so he replied in a few 
words, and in spite of the lapse of years they are 
distinctly remembered. "It is because," he said, "if 
your hand is just closed loosely, all you have to think 
of is where you want to land, but if you have your 
hand and forearm set up tight, you begin to think of 
how hard you mean to strike, and your tight grip 
takes your mind off aiming, but when the hand is 
loose it is easy." "Why?" was asked; and the reply 
followed, "Because you have only one thing to think 
about at a time." 

This moment was the birth of the Relaxing Trigger. 
From this suggestion of his grew the desire to study 
the psychology of physical movement. 



79 



Automobiles 



Fewer accidents by far are recorded with high- 
powered cars that can do two or three miles an hour 
and still remain in "high" than with the lower-powered 
cars. The reason is evident. In the high-powered 
cars the driver has no gears to bother about in traffic 
and can give undivided attention to the other cars 
and to the traffic police. His mind is therefore relaxed. 
He has not a lot of disparate ideas to think about as 
does the operator of the smaller car who has to shift 
gears. 



80 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE LONGBOW VS. THE CROSSBOW 

History has a curious way of repeating itself. The 
history of missile weapons reveals an interesting rela- 
tion which exists between weapons and the type of 
mind of the nations using them. 

Individuality and personal initiative have char- 
acterized the British and American civilizations to 
perhaps a somewhat greater degree than the conti- 
nental nations of Europe, where the idea of the 
national soul encompassing if not obliterating the 
individual soul is apparently in some force. This 
idea tends to make men collectivists rather than 
individualists. 

The continental European idea of infantry fire has 
always been that of masses. It was a fixed opinion 
that the individual would get so excited in action that 
the accuracy of training would be lost, and that in 
battle it was a mark of discipline if the men merely 
kept their rifle barrels horizontal, and that the rear 
sight would rarely ever be changed while the battle 
lasted. 

Such was the idea of recent times. Military text- 
books of continental European authors are full of such 
statements. They may be true for their people, 
although it is open to great question if so absurd a 



81 

dogma is true of any one. An action which has be- 
come instinctive and mechanical will in excitement be 
persisted in, which is a matter within the knowledge 
of any one who observes his fellow-man. 

While some races may be unable to aim accurately 
in battle, it is not true of the soldiers of Britain and 
her colonies nor of those of the United States. 

When the crossbow was invented it immediately 
became popular in continental Europe because it gave 
volume of fire. More arrows a minute could be shot 
with it, and it appealed to those devotees of mass fire 
as opposed to that of individual accuracy. 

The longbow, however, beat the crossbow on every 
battlefield where numbers were equal, — not on ac- 
count of superior valor of the British archer, but for 
the reason he was firing his arrows in the correct psy- 
chological method by relaxation. 

Here in mediaeval history did relaxation overthrow 
compression, which is now to be reduplicated in our 
own day. 

The English longbow was fired thus: The archer 
aimed while drawing back the bowstring to the ear, 
the left arm supporting the bow as a strut. He held 
his arrow and bowstring in static tension, concentrat- 
ing his whole attention on the objective, and when he 
desired to fire he relaxed the tension, and had at the 
moment of discharge no disparate mental or physical 
action to contend with. On the other hand, the cross- 
bow was fired by means of a trigger, and this induced 
flinching in precisely the same way as the compression 



82 

trigger induces flinching, by making it necessary to 
occupy the mind with two disparate ideas, and bring 
them to simultaneous co-ordination at the moment of 
discharge. 

A basic psychological law was violated. Two 
things were required to be done at the same time 
which were entirely disparate. A poorer result in- 
evitably followed. In the case of the longbowman no 
disparate action was involved. He could concentrate 
his entire attention on aiming until the moment of 
discharging the arrow, when he relaxed. 

This is as true to-day as a few centuries ago, for a 
natural law is immutable whether it be physical or 
psychological. 



83 



CHAPTER XVIII 
REPLIES TO REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION 

Some officers who have read the first and smaller 
edition of "The Relaxing Trigger" have, as is in- 
evitable with new ideas, not entirely grasped the prin- 
ciple at issue or the results that naturally follow. In 
response to repeated inquiries the following is set 
forth in the endeavor to make this edition so clear 
and comprehensive that it cannot be misunderstood. 

The Claims and by Whom Endorsed 

Every claim made for the Relaxing Trigger has 
been substantiated in firing about five thousand shots 
for several months. Scores of men and officers of ex- 
perience whose endorsements appear in the Appendix 
have agreed to the claims as made. Actual trial and 
investigation have convinced experts and others well 
qualified to express an opinion. These opinions are 
representative of all ranks, from corporal to that of 
lieutenant-general. 

Not a single general officer who has seen it has 
expressed an adverse opinion, not a single field officer, 
not a single company officer. The non-commissioned 
officer who has spent years of his life giving personal 
instruction is indeed qualified to express an opinion, 



84 

especially if he has been selected as instructor in rifle 
practice during the war. 

Such a man is Sergeant Albright of the United 
States Marine Corps. Sergeants Young, Reinstein, and 
Mihnowski, also of the Marine Corps, gave invaluable 
assistance in demonstrating the Relaxing Trigger, and 
in its present form it embodies some of their sugges- 
tions. The author is glad to take this occasion to 
express his thanks for their intelligent and useful 
criticism. 

Test 

This unanimity of opinion has warranted a test now 
provided for by the Government at Camp Benning, 
Georgia, where the School of Musketry of the Army is 
located, and where the results attained at the Marine 
Corps Rifle Range at Wakefield, Massachusetts, can- 
not fail of duplication. 

This test is to be on a scale sufficiently comprehen- 
sive to establish the validity of the claims by a test 
so large that the human equation will be that of the 
average man. 

Originality 

This invention is new, being without a rival in the 
patent office. 

The Relaxing Trigger is most emphatically not 
a safety-set trigger, as that term is now used and 
applied. It may, however, be considered as a safety- 



85 

set trigger working on an entirely new and different 
principle. 

The conclusions expressed in the last paragraph are 
those reached by Colonel Townsend Whalen of the 
General Staff, one of the world's authorities on 
rifle-firing. His letter to the author appears in the 
Appendix. 

Fire Effect 

As regards the claim that fire will be kept low 
in battle, but little need be said. It is obvious to the 
military man, but for the civilian rifleman the follow- 
ing statement is presented. 

Soldiers from time immemorial have been ordered 
to aim at the feet of an enemy except at the closest 
quarters. 

Most shots in battle except with seasoned troops 
go high. Even with seasoned troops a large propor- 
tion go high. 

The two last paragraphs are beyond dispute. They 
are military axioms. 

High fire is caused by flinching, or jerking the trig- 
ger when excited. This is a corollary from the two 
preceding axioms. 

With the Relaxing Trigger, jerking the trigger 
will not discharge the rifle. If the rifleman relaxes 
smoothly, his sight will not waver from the objective. 
This is exemplified in the description of "penny drill" 
given on page 48. There is but little tendency to relax 



forward with a jerk, or move the entire hand. Should 
this occur, however, the muzzle could move but in one 
direction — downward. This would inevitably pro- 
duce low fire. 

Actual firing of five thousand shots has proved 
this to be the case, and results count. 

Relaxation has a marked quieting effect on the 
nerves. The reason has been outlined in this edition, 
but exposition of the subject is quite technical and 
cannot be entirely understood without some knowledge 
of neurology and a very extensive study of the psy- 
chology of small physical movements. Enough has 
been said to make it clear to one who has not studied 
such subjects, and to present much more than a rea- 
sonable presumption. 

An exhaustive and conclusive analysis is beyond 
the scope of this edition. Those who have used the 
Relaxing Trigger express positive opinions in the 
affirmative as to the very noticeable steadying effect. 
The results are conclusive, and this is the vital 
question. 

All the movements used in manipulating the Relax- 
ing Trigger are positive. Every muscular move- 
ment which is the result of volition is positive. The 
compression of the trigger spring is sufficiently heavy 
to sustain the finger as it moves forward. The trig- 
ger is, as it were, allowed to drag the finger with it, 
sustaining the finger in much the same way as the 
arm of a man sustains his partner in the dance. If 
this compression is very weak, good results do not 



87 

follow, although almost any form of Relaxing Trigger 
is superior to any compression trigger. 

Specific Questions 

"When is the rifle discharged?" "At what pre- 
cise instant?" "Do you know when it is about to be 
discharged?" "Must you relax every instant with the 
same intensity?" "Can you relax up to a certain 
amount and then stop to give the sight the best pos- 
sible alignment and then carefully relax the rest of 
trigger movement?" 

These are the questions with which the author has 
been bombarded by a mail barrage. The answer to 
each and all of them is, "The Relaxing Trigger is the 
exact reverse of the present type in movement, but 
anything that you can do with the compression trigger 
can be performed with the Relaxing Trigger by sub- 
stituting relaxation for compression." This statement 
really answers every question. 

Nevertheless, to leave no room for doubt or mistake, 
and as the subject is so new and revolutionary, a 
detailed explanation will be given. 

The Two Schools of Instruction 

During the author's active service of twenty-five 
years, there were in the army, as now, two Schools 
of thought as regards the trigger squeeze. Some in- 
structors were strong partisans of one method, some of 



88 

the other. The author's opinion is that both Schools 
have excellent points, but that neither is adaptable to 
the psychology of every man. 

Men differ fundamentally and markedly in charac- 
ter and still more so in nerve reactions. What is good 
for one or for many is not necessarily good for all. 
More than once a company has been brought from 
the bottom of a regiment in target practice to the top 
by using both the methods to be discussed. An at- 
tempt was made to find out which of the two methods 
was the better adapted to the needs of the individual 
man. 

The author is not a partisan of either School, nor 
is the Relaxing Trigger acceptable to only one of these 
Schools of thought. It is in harmony with both. Just 
as the compression type can be fired by one method 
or the other, so can the Relaxing Trigger. 

"Give it the Rest" 

The first School may be called, for convenience, 
that of "give it the rest." The idea is (with the 
present type) to pull the trigger back until about 
ninety per cent, of the trigger distance is taken up, 
then to adjust the aim to the finest point possible, 
and next to apply the rest of the needed pressure in a 
slow, non-disturbing squeeze. With this School the 
Relaxing Trigger has no quarrel. The same method 
may be followed in its use. It is easily possible for 
even a novice to learn the distance the trigger passes 



89 

over (trigger distance), so that he can relax about 
ninety per cent, of the required relaxation, then 
adjust the aim to the finest possible accuracy, and 
next, give the rest of the relaxation in a slow, non-dis- 
turbing relaxation. With the Relaxing Trigger, at all 
times, as explained in "penny drill," the residual 
momentum of the trigger finger when the sear is 
tripped is expended forward, and not backward 
against the shoulder. 

Continuous Pull Through 

The second School may be called, for convenience, 
that of "continuous pull through." The idea is to get 
the best aim obtainable and then to start the trigger 
squeeze (when using the old type of trigger) and 
apply the pressure uniformly, evenly, and continu- 
ously until the piece is discharged. With this School 
the Relaxing Trigger has no quarrel. The same 
means may be employed in its use. The trigger may 
be compressed, the best possible aim taken and main- 
tained, and a slow, exact, and progressive relaxation 
started. In this case the action of the mechanism 
is so smooth that there is no premonitory grind or any- 
thing else to attract the attention of the firer, and he 
cannot anticipate the moment of discharge while using 
a continuous relaxation. When using the first method 
he can let the relaxation proceed quickly to about 
ninety per cent., hold it, and "let the rest" of the 
relaxation take place as advocated by the partisans 



90 

of that School; but once a uniform relaxation is 
started, the mechanism operates too smoothly to 
enable the exact instant to be foretold. At this criti- 
cal period there is nothing to evoke a disparate idea 
and distract the firer's attention. The trigger action 
remains almost on the subconscious plane as regards 
nerve irritation, but is nevertheless distinctly felt and 
under control up to the instant the rifle is discharged. 

If at any time during aiming it is desired to execute 
"cease firing," the trigger is immediately jerked back, 
the finger latch applied quick as thought, and the rifle 
is "safe." 

It is therefore seen that both Schools of thought can 
be accommodated, and the contest will still rage in 
garrison and on the target range between those who 
advocate the continuous action and those who advo- 
cate "give it the rest." It is possible to present the 
Relaxing Trigger in such shape as to be acceptable to 
but one of these Schools, that is, to either one but not 
the other. 

Adaptability to Both Schools 

As the result of years of experience in instructing, 
it is considered that both Schools have great merits, 
and that both should be used, as neither School will 
fit every man. On this account, therefore, the Relax- 
ing Trigger is presented in such shape as to admit its 
use by either School. 

The results of extensive firings are more than per- 



91 

suasive, they are conclusive, and have demonstrated 
each and every claim. 

Safety 

The safety is far greater. The extensive firings 
prove this, which is the best of all answers, but it 
should be evident. It is so, in theory. With the com- 
pression trigger, if a man is jolted or in any way dis- 
turbed, the slightest contraction of the muscles results 
in discharging the piece, and such contraction is in- 
stinctive and involuntary. With the Relaxing Trig- 
ger, if perspiration runs in the eye, dust enters it, 
"cease firing" is sounded, or if for any other cause 
the rifleman is interfered with, he has but one thing 
to do, squeeze or jerk the trigger backwards. The 
piece cannot then be discharged. The safety latch 
is then instantaneously applied. It is applied by the 
middle finger of the same hand as the trigger finger, 
and is the fastest and safest safety latch in the world. 
The safety latch on the sporting model requires but 
one movement of the middle finger. In using this 
model, when it is desired to bring the rifle to "safe" 
after the trigger has been retracted, it is sufficient to 
move the middle finger forward, toward the trigger 
bow. The trigger will move forward but without 
discharging the rifle. Should the rifle be dropped 
from the hands after the trigger has been retracted the 
weapon will not be discharged. This seems surpris- 
ing but it is a fact. Great safety has been attained. 



92 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE RELAXING TRIGGER IN COLLECTIVE 

FIRE 

The Crowd 

The way in which a crowd reacts to any idea or 
emotion is very different to the reaction of an in- 
dividual to the same cause. If one or two individuals 
are in a room of a building when an alarm of fire is 
given, they will act sensibly or the reverse according 
to their individual temperament and intelligence. But 
if a crowd is in the room, under the same conditions, 
the way in which the crowd acts is almost without 
exception better or worse than the action of the in- 
dividuals in the same situation. 

The contagion of excitement causes a thought wave 
to spread with great rapidity among a crowd. If the 
first thought impulse communicated is a sensible one, 
the rest of the individuals composing the crowd are 
apt to follow the direction of the few who first take 
some decided action. 

Sheep and cattle are easily stampeded, and the 
human animal likewise. 

It may be accepted as a fundamental principle that 
the crowd mind is never equal in intelligence to the 
numerical average of the minds of its individual com- 
ponents. Any exciting cause that hinders or pre- 



93 

vents the proper accomplishment of an act in the in- 
dividual must therefore have a still more deleterious 
effect on the less intelligent and more impressionable 
crowd mind. 

The Mob Spirit 

A mob until aroused by a few ringleaders is an 
inchoate force with great potentialities for destruc- 
tion, which, however, do not take form and begin to 
operate in unison until a few have responded to the 
exhortations of a leader or small group of leaders. 
The resulting action may appear spontaneous, but no 
matter how rapid the action of the mob may appear, 
it is in reality never instantaneous. 

Modern smokeless powder does not explode when 
ignited by a detonator, but burns rapidly, although 
this combustion is still colloquially and inaccurately 
called explosion. 

The impulse to action in a crowd when a sufficient 
impulse exists is uncontrollable. This is true of 
mobs, political conventions, and armies, although in 
the latter to a much less extent through the controll- 
ing influence of discipline. 

The Military Crowd 

Colonel Le Roy Eltinge, U.S.A., in his work on 
"The Psychology of War" cites many instances in 
military history of headlong charges in the face of 
appalling odds, and of headlong flights. Both were 



94 

occasioned by causes entirely disproportionate to the 
effects produced. 

In the one case, the contagion of excited enthusiasm 
led to victory, and in the other, a sudden and inexpli- 
cable impulse, that all was lost, led to panic. The 
compression trigger is poor for the individual and 
execrable for the crowd, as the principles of its con- 
struction enhance excitement. 

Volley-firing 

Volley-firing is that class of infantry fire where a 
considerable number of soldiers fire their rifles at the 
same instant when the word of command is given. 
This has always been a hard thing to have men do, 
even in field problems in time of peace. 

Every man must squeeze his trigger so as to dis- 
charge his rifle at the same time as all the others. 
Every soldier naturally desires to hit. All of his 
military instruction has impressed upon his mind that 
accuracy is of prime importance. But the nerve 
reactions of no two men are precisely similar, and the 
time necessary for one man to actuate his trigger 
is different from that of his neighbor in ranks. Some 
one man is apt to fire before the rest and then the en- 
tire group will fire. The volley is then poor, often 
sounding in the case of recruits like a bunch of fire- 
crackers. The effect of surprise by a simultaneous 
fire against an enemy is lost, and also accuracy. A 
good volley in which every man fires at the same 



95 

instant is generally accomplished by attending to the 
trigger action with greater care than to the aiming. 
Precision in firing the volley is the dominating 
thought and demands the sacrifice of accuracy. 

The Causes of Poor Volley-firing with the 
Compression Trigger 

Now we have seen that the use of the compression 
trigger involves working against the inhibitory in- 
fluence of a disparate idea, as the mind must be occu- 
pied with the act of aiming and also be distracted 
by having to pay attention to the sensation of the 
trigger finger to insure a smoothly and evenly main- 
tained compression. 

If the compression is hastily and clumsily done, the 
muzzle of the rifle rises and shots go high. It must 
be maintained with almost exquisite care to insure 
good results, for if not, when the sear of the trigger 
mechanism is tripped, any slight residual momentum 
will expend itself in the direction of the moving trig- 
ger finger. This force acts mechanically as a couple, 
lifting the muzzle of the rifle, and high fire inevitably 
results. 

Volley-firing, as is well known, never, except in the 
entirely artificial conditions of the target range (and 
not often then), produces the accurate results shown 
by firing at will, where each man aims and fires at his 
own volition. Just as long as the compression trigger 
is used this will be the case — just as long as two 



96 

things are required to be done simultaneously (and 
two disparate things, too, which makes a bad matter 
worse) — just as long as the human equation is dis- 
regarded by paying no attention to the psychological 
idiosyncrasies of the mind. 

The Relaxing Trigger in Volley-firing 

With the Relaxing Trigger all this is startlingly dif- 
ferent. It is obvious that a number of men who are 
holding an object in the hand can simultaneously let 
go of it in unison, as nerve reaction counts for little 
in this case, the movement being one of relaxation. 
But if the required act is a contrary one and the men 
are commanded to lift up or draw back in unison an 
object which is held in the hand, some will be too 
fast, while others, on account of natural slowness, will 
lag behind. 

Now in the use of the Relaxing Trigger the same 
condition obtains, as is referred to in the first of the 
last two cases described. 

While aiming with the Relaxing Trigger the men 
have the entire attention concentrated on one thing — 
the aim. The trigger is retracted. The individual 
maintains what may be called in military parlance, "a 
position in readiness." At the word of command 
"fire," nothing is to be done but to relax the trigger 
finger, which in the case of the Relaxing Trigger can 
be done without derangement of the aim and with- 
out affecting the accuracy. 



97 

Thus volley-firing can now be made to show an 
accuracy comparable with that of firing at will. 

In every phase of rifle practice we have therefore 
seen that the method of firing by relaxation gives 
superior results, which should now leave no room for 
doubt that this method is the only natural one and is 
a real remedy for the causes making poor rifle fire so 
common. It is a return to first principles, — the same 
principle that caused the English longbow to defeat 
the crossbow in the Middle Ages. 

All compression triggers are bad — mere panaceas. 
Some are worse than others. The best are only pallia- 
tives of the evil, not remedies, and in the case of 
safety-set triggers too dangerous for military consid- 
eration and also dangerous in sporting use. 

The Eureka Arms Company has solved the diffi- 
culty. A large variety of different forms of the Re- 
laxing Trigger can be applied to small arms. The 
task of making it safer than the existing type of com- 
pression trigger was the greatest difficulty. It re- 
quired years of work, but success has been attained, 
and the results show that the Relaxing Trigger is 
safer than the present and inefficient type of trigger 
now in use. Seeing is believing. 



98 



CONCLUSION 

This edition is published to explain the five claims, 
viz.: 

1. The time necessary to instruct recruits is much 
shorter. 

2. Greater accuracy is attained. 

3. Greater rapidity is attained. 

4. Low fire in battle results — a tactical considera- 
tion of the utmost importance. 

5. Greater safety is furnished than is available 
with the compression trigger. 



Q. E. D. 

The endorsements follow in the Appendix. 



99 



APPENDIX 



NATURE OF THE ENDORSEMENTS 

The Relaxing Trigger has been received with 
marked interest everywhere it has been shown. It is 
one of the most original inventions that has ever ap- 
peared in the history of American invention, and the 
only practical one in its class. 

The fact that it has great merit has been substan- 
tiated on the target range. Officers who have spent 
a lifetime in the service are convinced that its use 
will shorten the time necessary to make a good shot by 
half, that it increases accuracy and rapidity of fire, 
and that the tactical advantage of eliminating high fire 
is one of the utmost military importance, which is also 
of value to the civilian who uses firearms. 

Whatever the conclusions of abstract investigation 
may be, the acid test of any invention is what it does 
in actual use. 

Actual use has convinced the officers whose testi- 
monials appear in the following pages. Each testi- 
monial is of itself enough to convince. 

The concurrent testimony of them all is according 
to all laws evidence overwhelming. 

The attention of the civilian is especially directed 
to the opinion of Colonel Townsend Whalen, who in 



100 

addition to being well known to all military men as 
an expert on rifle practice has a national reputation 
as a rifleman and author and is considered to be one 
of the foremost authorities on the rifle in the world. 

These are a few of the many endorsements in pos- 
session of the Eureka Arms Company. 

The endorsement of Colonel Seigle appears on the 
opposite page. 

Colonel Seigle is an officer of the regular army 
of many years' service. At the time he saw the Re- 
laxing Trigger in use he was the officer in charge of 
target practice at Camp Devens, near Ayer, Massa- 
chusetts. 

The opinion of such an officer is valuable. 

He considers the Relaxing Trigger to be original, 
revolutionary, and startling, and that it merits serious 
consideration with a view to its adoption. 

Read the opinion of an expert witness. 

Camp Devens, Mass., 
July 18, 1918. 

I was present and witnessed a demonstration on the 
"Sniper's Range," this cantonment, of the Relaxing 
Trigger, fitted to a regulation army rifle. 

The results of this trial were most satisfactory. 

The principle is revolutionary in that the trigger is 
"pulled" back and not "squeezed" and the piece is 
fired by simply permitting the finger to yield to the 
trigger pressure. This to a great extent eliminates 
flinching, as the firer does not know the exact instant 
of discharge. 



101 

One of the great advantages of this device is that 
the greatest of all difficulties in the making of good 
shots is practically done away with, and that is, the 
"squeezing of the trigger" which requires so much 
careful training and takes such a great amount of time 
to secure the best results. In other words, this means 
the teaching of the recruits in less time. 

One of the drafted men was called up to the 200- 
yard firing-point who had never fired a rifle of any 
kind. He had been given aiming and sighting exer- 
cises. In about five minutes of explanation and snap- 
ping of the piece he was told to fire at the "A" target, 
using the parapet as a rest. His first score of five 
shots totalled 18, getting a five and a four on his last 
two shots. His second score resulted in all fours, 
very close in, totalling 20, with a range total of 38 for 
the ten shots fired. 

This device is so new and startling and promises so 
much that it should be given a most thorough tryout, 
as it certainly merits the most serious consideration 
with a view of its adoption. 

Thos. B. Seigle, 
Lieut. -Col., Inf., N.A. 

Has the infantry advanced? If so, an engagement 
has been won. If the infantry has not been able to 
advance and retain the position gained, affairs are at 
a stalemate. The Relaxing Trigger will add to the 
already proved ability of the American soldier to 
advance. 



102 

Colonel Townsend Whalen's endorsement appears 
below. The following is taken from the reviews of 
recent publications appearing in the Army and Navy 
Journal of September 21, 1918: 

"The American Rifle," by Colonel Townsend 
Whalen, U.S.A. (The Century Company, New York), 
is a treatise, a text-book, and a book of practical in- 
struction in the use of the rifle, written by one of the 
foremost authorities on the use of the rifle in the 
world, who has himself won many rifle championships. 
Colonel Whalen was ordnance officer of the 79th Divi- 
sion U.S.A. and a captain in the 29th Infantry Regu- 
lar establishment. He is now attached to the General 
Staff. The author in his introduction explains that 
"this is not a military book," but adds that "the 
soldier will find in it much dealing with the principal 
weapon of the infantryman which has not heretofore 
been available." Credit is given Dr. Franklin Mann 
for a description of experiments made and research 
work undertaken by him and set forth in his book. 
"The Bullet's Flight," Colonel Whalen's book, is a 
most complete and valuable one. It is freely and 
well illustrated. 

The opinion of such an officer is valuable and 

The author has frequently met officers who have not 
seen the Relaxing Trigger and whose only knowledge 
of it was what they had heard from some brother 
officers. He has frequently been asked the question, 
"What do Whalen and Baldwin think of it?" 

Colonel Whalen s opinion speaks for itself. 

Colonel Baldwin s opinion appears upon page 120. 



103 

should be considered. He considers the Relaxing 
Trigger to be original, revolutionary. He considers 
it to have merit. 

War College Division 

WAR DEPARTMENT 

Office of the Chief of Staff 

Washington 

August 24, 1918. 

Major Murray Baldwin, U.S.A., 
31 Westbourne Terrace, 
Brookline, Mass. 

My dear Major Baldwin: 

I am in receipt of your letter of the 17th inst. I 
had the good fortune to examine the rifle equipped 
with your Relaxing Trigger which was submitted at 
Camp Meade. At first glance I was inclined to pass 
it along like many other inventions which have been 
submitted during the present emergency. But the 
more I thought of it the more it appealed to me as 
having a lot to it. At first glance it seems too revolu- 
tionary, but when you come to think of it, it is really 
a safety-set trigger operating on a different principle. 

I am inclined to think that we can teach men in a 
short time to use this trigger effectively. 

At the present time you know we have to teach 
the recruit, first, to take up all the safety pull of slack 
in the trigger; second, to apply about ninety per cent, 
of the pressure on the trigger that is necessary to 
release the sear; and third, to apply the last ten per 
cent, of pressure in a careful, non-disturbing squeeze. 

There are really three acts to squeezing the present 
trigger, each of which requires considerable skill. 



104 

The great trouble is that it really requires many 
months to teach the average man always to perform 
these three acts correctly when he does them in quick 
succession as in rapid fire — the usual fire of battle. 

It would seem that your trigger overcomes much 
of this difficulty in instructing the recruit. When the 
rifle is placed to the shoulder, grasp the trigger and 
small of the stock hard, and pull back against the 
shoulder. When the aim appears to be just about 
right, slowly and carefully relax the pressure on the 
trigger. The trigger mechanism will release the sear 
evenly, and without disturbing the aim and hold. 

I believe that this trigger should be thoroughly 
tried out in competition with the present form of trig- 
ger in the instruction of a large number of recruits. 

Thank you very much for calling this matter to my 
attention. 

Yours very truly, 

TOWNSEND WHALEN, 

Lieutenant-Colonel, General Staff, 

Colonel N. H. Hall is an officer of the United States 
Marine Corps of years' service. He has participated 
in action in battle from the islands of the Caribbean 
Sea to China and the Philippines. 

The Marine Corps makes a specialty of rifle-firing. 

The opinion of such an officer is valuable. 

He considers the Relaxing Trigger to have great 
merit in battle. 

It is to be noted that there is an adverse criticism 
of the safety latch. This objection has now been 
fully met by placing the finger-guard so that the hand 



105 

cannot come in contact with the safety latch in bayonet 
work, and was approved by Colonel Hall. 

Read his opinion and see what he and non-com- 
missioned officers who were experienced instructors 
think of the Relaxing Trigger. 

Opinion of Colonel N. H. Hall, United States 
Marine Corps 

1. On June 13, 1918, I witnessed the firing of a 
rifle fitted with the Relaxing Trigger, and am of the 
opinion that the contentions advanced are well sus- 
tained. 

2. The firing was at about 250 yards' range, and 
both slow and rapid fire were carried out. Regula- 
tion targets "A" and "B," Army Range, Fort Keith, 
Massachusetts. 

3. The below-named non-commissioned officers of 
the Marine Corps fired, with scores as follows: 



Slow 


Rapid 


24 


23 


16 


24 



Sergeant Theodore Albright 
Sergeant Nicholas Mihnowski 
(four shots only at slow fire) 
Sergeant Frank A. Young 24 24 

These scores were made under the most unfavor- 
able conditions, that is, they had about five minutes' 
instruction and were firing by directly contrary meth- 
ods to which they had been accustomed. 

4. The rapidity according to the men is increased, 
due to being able to fire more quickly after getting 



106 

the aim. This should follow as a matter of course, 
and there is no continuous mental effort involved, as 
in the case of a compression trigger. 

5. The accuracy should be increased. 

(a) There is no mental effort in co-ordinating 
pressure (touch) and sight, after getting the aim 
(simply relax and the rifle fires), as in the case 
of the compression trigger. 

(b) There is no tendency to fire high, as in the 
case of the compression trigger; in fact, if any 
error should occur from muscular reaction on 
trigger, it would have the opposite effect, drop 
the muzzle, and lower the point of impact. This 
latter error would from the method of firing be 
immaterial, and on the side of increased casual- 
ties to the enemy in battle, as it would keep the 
shots low. 

6. The safety is a matter of training, and trained 
troops, and no more peculiar to this changed method 
of firing than the present method. So far as the 
method itself is concerned, I consider it just as safe 
as the present one. 

7. The position of the safety latch is bad, as when 
using the bayonet it would lacerate the forefinger. 
This, however, is a mechanical matter, as the latch can 

Greater rapidity and greater accuracy are attained 
by the Relaxing Trigger. 



107 



be installed at any other place, or its present shape 
can be modified and a bevelled button installed. 

[This defect was remedied, and both Colonel Hall 
and the non-commissioned officers were entirely satis- 
fied with the way in which it had been done.] 

8. It is recommended that rifles fitted with the 
Relaxing Trigger be obtained and given a thorough 
try-out with recruits, as it is believed that the best 
results would be obtained from green men. 

9. One man who had never been able to qualify 
made an expert score at Fort Keith. An officer of 
the Wakefield Range who has been unable to avoid 
"flinching" made scores better than he had made with 
the other firing method, compression trigger. 

N. H. Hall. 

Admiral Spencer S. Wood is a distinguished officer 
of the navy of many years' service. The opinion of 
such an officer is valuable. On November 22, 1918, 
he saw the Relaxing Trigger demonstrated on the 
Navy Rifle Range at Wakefield, Massachusetts. 

The crowd mind is never equal in intelligence to the 
numerical average of the several minds constituting 
the crowd. The Relaxing Trigger eliminates flinch- 
ing, the chief error, and enables collective fire to have 
a new and more effective value. The reader is re- 
ferred to "The Psychology of Suggestion' by Boris 
Sidis for an illuminating discussion of the mechanical 
efficiency of the crowd mind. 



108 



He also questioned the following non-commissioned 
officers of the Marine Corps who have instructed many 
men in the use of this trigger, viz.: Sergeant Frank 
A. Young, Sergeant Nicholas Mihnowski, Sergeant 
Theodore Albright, and Sergeant Charles Reinstein, 
all of the United States Marine Corps. 

These non-commissioned officers are all expert rifle- 
men and instructors. Their service varies from ten 
to thirty-one years. They should certainly be familiar 
with the difficulties of instructing recruits. Their 
opinion is that the Relaxing Trigger is far preferable 
to the present type, for the reasons advanced in the 
list of claims. 

Admiral Wood shot the rifle equipped with the 
Relaxing Trigger, making expert scores although he 
had not shot in some years. He said, "I could not 
have done so well with the other style of trigger." 

Read what he states concerning this trigger after 
shooting with it himself, seeing trained men use it, 
and also men with no previous training. 

His endorsement follows. 



The same skill is acquired in one-half the time with 
the Relaxing Trigger as compared with the compres- 
sion trigger. 



109 

FIRST NAVAL DISTRICT 

Office of the Commandant 

Little Building, Boston, Mass. 

November 25, 1918. 

From: Commandant, First Naval District, 
To: Major Murray Baldwin, U.S.A., 

31 Westbourne Terrace, Brookline, Mass. 

I have carefully investigated a service rifle fitted 
with the trigger-releasing attachment and have fired 
the piece so fitted at two hundred and three hundred 
yard targets. 

It impresses me as a very valuable addition to the 
piece, one which certainly adds much to its accuracy. 
The safety feature of it is compact, conveniently 
placed, and seems to be reliable and dependable. 

Spencer S. Wood, 
Rear Admiral, U.S.N. 

The endorsement of Lieutenant Thomas Jones, Ord- 
nance Department, follows. 

He has had years of service as a non-commis- 
sioned officer prior to being commissioned, and was 
a professional instructor. 

The opinion of such an officer is valuable. 

He states that with the Relaxing Trigger, instruc- 



The Relaxing Trigger doubles the efficiency of the 
individual rifleman in both individual and collective 
fire. 



110 

tions can be given in half the time, that increased 
accuracy in slow and rapid fire results, and that any 
intelligent person should become a good shot who 
uses it. 

Read his interesting statement. 

Statement of First Lieutenant Thomas Jones, 
Ordnance Department, U.S.R. 

HEADQUARTERS NORTHEASTERN DEPARTMENT 

25 Huntington Avenue 

Boston, Massachusetts 

June 15, 1918. 

I hereby certify that prior to my being commis- 
sioned as a 1st Lieutenant, Ordnance Department, 
U.S.R., I had had about 25 years' service in the Regu- 
lar Army and a great deal of experience as an in- 
structor and coach in rifle and pistol shooting. My 
service and experience is as follows: 

1. My service in the Army is over 25 years. I 
have been in the Ordnance Department for the last 10 
years. My service in the line was about 15 years; 
5 years of which was as 1st Sergeant. I have there- 
fore had considerable experience in training soldiers 
to shoot and in addition thereto I have acted as coach 
for rifle associations at different times. 

2. I shot on the Army Div. competition in the fol- 
lowing years: 1904, 1905, 1906, and 1907. In 1905 

The Relaxing Trigger is endorsed by those who 
direct and control infantry fire in battle. 



Ill 

and 1906 I attained the 11th and 8th places respec- 
tively. 

3. In 1910 and 1911 I was official coach of the 
St. Paul Rifle & Pistol Association. I won the "Bear's 
Head Trophy" in this Club, competing against 130 
men. 

4. In 1914 and 1915 I had an honorary member- 
ship in the Manito Rifle & Pistol Club of Spokane, 
Washington. I was among the six men leading, who 
made 868 out of 900 in the competitive match, which 
is a Rifle Association record. 

5. Under my instructions my daughter, when about 
16 years old, was made an expert shot. She com- 
peted at Fort George Wright, Washington, near 
Spokane. She competed against 140 cadets of the 
University of Moscow, Idaho, making a percentage 
of 83 1/5 at 200, 300, and 500 yards' slow fire and 
at 200 and 300 yards' rapid fire, making 215 out 
of a possible 250, using the service rifle and ammuni- 
tion. She took first place, leading the next competitor 
by three points. He was a member of the National 
Guard and had shot in many competitions at Sea 
Girt. The next highest competitor was an officer of 
the Regular Army who was the instructor of the 
Cadets. 

6. From the above summary of my service and 
experience as an instructor and coach I consider my- 
self qualified to render an opinion as to the essentials 
of good marksmanship. 

This trigger is one that ultimately will be the stand- 
ard type for all firearms discharged by an individual 
pull of the trigger for each shot. If eventually, why 
not now? 



112 



Remarks Relative to the Reid-Baldwin Relaxing 
Trigger 

1. I have examined the device described as the 
Relaxing Trigger and in my opinion it has many good 
features, viz.: 

(a) The average recruit can be trained in 
half the time that it would take with the normal 
arm. 

(b) Increased accuracy in both slow and 
rapid fire will be attained by eliminating the 
fault of flinching entirely, as well as any ten- 
dency to derange the aim by an improper manner 
of trigger function. 

(c) With this device any healthy and intelli- 
gent person should become a good shot, as 
the device eliminates the flinching and trigger 
troubles we now have to contend with. 

Thomas W. Jones, 
First Lt., Ordnance Department, U.S.R.C. 



Compression of a trigger is done against a force 
constantly increasing in intensity. Relaxing is merely 
yielding to a force that constantly becomes less. 






113 



General John W. Ruckman is a well-known army- 
officer. Read his endorsement which he gave after 
seeing the Relaxing Trigger demonstrated at the Wake- 
field Range on November 25, 1918. 



HEADQUARTERS 

NORTH ATLANTIC COAST ARTILLERY DISTRICT 

Boston, Mass. 

December 7, 1918. 

To Whom it may Concern: 

This is to say that I am acquainted with the opera- 
tion of a new trigger device proposed by Major 
Murray Baldwin, U.S.A. Retd., and have had it ex- 
plained to me at various times and have seen it at 
work on the target range. The merit claimed for this 
particular device is that the gun is discharged by 
releasing the trigger, rather than by compression of 
the finger and extra exertion after the trigger has 
been pulled back to the limit of movement before 
firing. The claim of superiority of his released 
trigger over the compression trigger is that it depends 
upon a psychological principle in the man firing, that 
a relaxation of the muscles of the fingers is an easy 
operation compared to the extreme compression 
necessary in firing the gun by the old method, and that 
the relaxation in regard to his trigger is an easy 
operation, free from any flinching on the part of the 
man about to fire ; that it is a perfectly natural process 

The Relaxing Trigger is dangerous to the enemy. 
It is entirely safe to those who use it. 



114 

and tends to bring about steadiness instead of un- 
steadiness in discharging the gun. 

I have not fired this gun myself, but believe it to 
involve an important principle which will probably 
add great accuracy to firing, should it be adopted. I 
base this opinion upon statements made to me on the 
firing-ground by men who have had long experience 
in training men and also in firing at targets. I have 
talked with two old non-commissioned officers of the 
Marine Corps who were accustomed to the compres- 
sion method of pulling the trigger, and who, after a 
few shots with this new device, spoke of it in the 
highest terms of appreciation. They assured me that 
they were able to make anywhere from ten to twenty 
per cent, better scores with this new device than with 
the old one and were greatly pleased with it, and one 
of them at least was anxious to secure a gun to which 
this new device would be attached. I also saw a man 
who had never fired before except possibly once a few 
days before, and firing at the Regular Army target 
for 300 yards and at that range, this man was able 
to make 43 out of 50, apparently without difficulty. 

The theoretical advantages claimed for the trigger 
pull and the evidence herewith included appeals to 
me very strongly, and in my opinion the question 
should be further developed and thorough tests of 
the principle involved on the target range should be 
carried out. It appears to me that it has theoretical 
advantages and that these advantages will materialize 
with practical shooting on the target range. 

John W. Ruckman, 
Brigadier General, U.S.A. 



Relaxation of the muscles is good for the nerves. 



115 

General Clarence Edwards is a distinguished officer 
of the Army and was in command of the 26th Division 
in France. His opinion is valuable. His conclusions 
appear below. 

HEADQUARTERS NORTHEASTERN DEPARTMENT 
99 Chauncy Street, Boston, Massachusetts 

December 24, 1918. 
To Whom it may Concern: 

This is to certify that I have examined a rifle, 
Springfield, model 1903, fitted with a device known 
as a Relaxing Trigger. I have also examined a cali- 
ber 38 revolver with the same mechanism. 

I have read a pamphlet describing the invention, 
written by Major Murray Baldwin, U.S.A., Retired. 
From the evidence in the pamphlet and my inspection 
of the arms to which it is applied I am of the opinion 
that the improvement in marksmanship would be most 
material, that increased rapidity of fire would result, 
that its use is not difficult to acquire, and that the time 
necessary to instruct recruits would be very ma- 
terially diminished. 

The safety latch is easily applied and is so arranged 
in connection with the trigger as to permit of its 
rapid application for the purpose intended. 

It impresses me as a valuable device and I think 
it should be tested in competition; one hundred rifles 
to be equipped with the Relaxing Trigger and the 



The Relaxing Trigger is the result of years of study. 
Changing the mechanism will not improve it. 



116 

results to be compared with a hundred rifles using 
the present trigger. 

I believe this Relaxing Trigger to be suitable for 
the service for rifles, pistols, revolvers, and shotguns, 
in short, all firearms in which a separate pull of the 
trigger is necessary for each shot, as it eliminates 
flinching, the chief source of human error. It is 
entirely different from any device now on the market, 
as it is not a set trigger, and is, therefore, free from 
the danger of such mechanism. 

C. R. Edwards, 

Major General, U.S. Army. 

Mr. Sidney E. Sears is a man of international repu- 
tation as a revolver shot. His world's record still 
stands. His opinions are valuable. His conclusions 
as to the merits of the Relaxing Trigger appear below. 



St. Louis, Missouri, 
January 1, 1919. 
To Whom it may Concern: 

This is to certify that I have inspected a revolver 
fitted with a new trigger mechanism which was demon- 
strated by Major Murray Baldwin, U.S. Army. This 
trigger is called the Relaxing Trigger and differs from 
the present mechanism in that the trigger may be 
pulled or jerked back without firing the revolver, 

The precise moment of discharge of a firearm is 
the critical instant. The Relaxing Trigger insures 
freedom from muscular vibration at this time. 



117 

which will not be discharged so long as the trigger is 
held back. During this time aim is taken, and when 
the trigger finger is allowed to yield to the tension 
of the compressed trigger spring the revolver is dis- 
charged. 

When the trigger is compressed, relaxing the press- 
ure on trigger will discharge the revolver and if 
while the trigger is so compressed it is desired to 
cease firing the revolver can be brought to the "safety" 
and the trigger released without firing. 

I have been 29 years in the St. Louis Police De- 
partment and in 1904-5-6 won the U.S. Revolver 
Trophy, making a world's record and thus retaining 
permanent possession of the trophy, which had to be 
won three times to become a permanent possession. 

From my experience I feel that I am qualified to 
express an opinion as to the merits of the Relaxing 
Trigger. In my opinion it has decided advantages 
especially in the instruction of new men, which are : 

1. It increases accuracy of fire. 

2. It makes rapid fire easier. 

3. It is equal in safety to the present trigger and 
in case of missing the objective the bullet is not apt 
to deviate so far from the mark as with the present 
type. 

4. Men can be trained to become good shots in 
much less time than is now required with the present 
type of trigger. 

Sidney E. Sears, 
Sergeant of Police. 



118 

Lieutenant Camp is a distinguished revolver shot 
and has a high reputation as an instructor. Since 
his retirement he has been extremely successful in 
business. He is eminently qualified to express an 
authoritative opinion as to the claims of the Relaxing 
Trigger. His conclusions appear below. 



BEAUFORD R. CAMP, 
316 Eleventh Ave., 
San Francisco, Calif., 
Tel. Pac. 1360. 

April 27, 1919. 
Maj. Murray Baldwin, 
U.S.A. Retd., 
San Francisco, Calif. 

My dear Major Baldwin: 

Let me advise you that after very carefully examin- 
ing and trying your new trigger mechanism for rifle 
and revolver, I am firmly convinced that your claims 
for same as set forth in your pamphlet on the subject 
are well founded and not in excess of what the results 
and benefits to small-arms firing will be. 

I am absolutely confident that this device will ac- 
complish what we have all been working for, that is, 
to eliminate the absolutely hopeless shots, to improve 
greatly the mediocre shots, and to make everybody, 
under stress of battle conditions, shoot "low" instead 
of high. 

As requested by you I am stating some of my record 
as a shot, so that it may be evident that I have had 



119 

sufficient experience to enable me to be a fair and 
competent critic of the subject. 

During my sixteen years' active service in the 
Army, I attained the Classification of Expert Rifle- 
man and Expert Pistol Shot. Also I won in com- 
petition the Honor and Insignia of Distinguished 
Marksman and Distinguished Pistol Shot. At the 
Division Pistol Competition at Ft. Sheridan in 1907, 
I finished No. 1, out of a field of 75 entries, tying the 
highest score that had ever been made in competition 
with a revolver at that time. In the Division Rifle 
Competition at Ft. McKinley, P.I., in 1908, I finished 
No. 1 in a field of 150 entries. I was a member of the 
Cavalry Rifle Team in the National Matches at Camp 
Perry in 1909 and 1910, and in the National In- 
dividual Rifle Match at Camp Perry in 1909, I 
finished No. 11, in a field of 700 entries. 

Very truly yours, 

B. R. Camp, 
1st Lt., U.S. Army, Retd. 



120 

Colonel T. A. Baldwin, U.S.A., is a distinguished 
marksman. When he was a company officer he was 
one of the highly successful instructors in the teaching 
of rifle-firing. He has been a member of the Infantry 
Team and as such has participated in the National 
Rifle Competitions. 

His reputation in the Army makes his opinion 
valuable. Read what he says after a careful inspec- 
tion of the Relaxing Trigger. 

WAR DEPARTMENT 

Office of the Director of Air Service 

Washington 

June 1, 1920. 
Major Murray Baldwin. 
My dear Major Baldwin: 

I have carefully examined a service rifle fitted 
with a Relaxing Trigger. This rifle you left with me 
for a few days. I have also read your pamphlet 
entitled "The Relaxing Trigger," which explains the 
new way of firing in detail. 

From my personal experience as an instructor both 
with troops and as a member of the Infantry Team on 
the National Rifle Competition I believe you have a 
device that is not an improvement but a radical revo- 
lution. 

Nevertheless I believe both individually and as an 
instructor that it will be a boon to those who have to 
teach rifle practice, as it does away with flinching 
entirely. I am convinced that greater accuracy will 
be attained by its use, as well as greater rapidity. 



121 

It is obvious that the large number of shots that go 
high in action will be greatly lowered, which is a 
tactical advantage of the most material importance. 
As regards safety, the model I have used is fully as 
safe as the present type, and I am inclined to think 
may be more so with trained men. 

Thanking you for having brought to my notice an 
interesting subject which I am sure will have a great 
future, I am, 

Very truly yours, 

T. A. Baldwin, 
Lieutenant-Colonel U.S.A. 



The author has frequently met officers who have 
not seen the Relaxing Trigger and whose only knowl- 
edge of it was what they had heard from some brother 
officer. He has often been asked the question, "What 
do Baldwin and Whalen think of it?" 

Colonel Baldwin s opinion speaks for itself. 

Colonel Whalen s opinion appears upon page 103. 



122 

Colonel Garrard is an officer of long and dis- 
tinguished service as well as one of our most dis- 
tinguished shots and instructors. His opinions are 
valuable. His conclusions regarding the Relaxing 
Trigger, which he investigated extensively, appear 
below. 

Alcatraz, California. 
April 30, 1919. 
To Whom it may Concern: 

The Eureka Arms Company make claim for the 
Relaxing Trigger invented by Major Murray Baldwin, 
U.S.A., Retired, as follows: 

1. Takes one-fourth the time to instruct new men. 

2. Increased accuracy. 

3. Increased rapidity. 

4. Low, instead of high, lire in battle. 

As a life member of the National Rifle Association 
and after an experience of fifty years in target prac- 
tice, and after having qualified as a distinguished 
marksman in 1886, and as a marksman, as a sharp- 
shooter, and as an expert for a great many years, I 
have fully made up my mind that there is marked 
justice in these claims. 

Jos. Garrard. 

General Leonard Wood is known to all Americans. 
It was he who aroused the country to an appreciation 
of preparedness. It was he who first arranged for 
a camp for the training of reserve officers at Platts- 



123 

burg. His plan — the Plattsburg idea — provided men 
for officers with more than a rudimentary knowledge 
of military essentials. 

His opinion of the Relaxing Trigger is therefore one 
of peculiar interest, for all methods of improving 
instruction appeal powerfully to him. 

He has inspected the Relaxing Trigger and read the 
edition describing its use. His conclusions follow. 

Chicago, Illinois. 
May Nineteenth, 

NlNETEEN-NINETEEN. 

Dear Major: 

With reference to the Relaxing Trigger, I believe 
there is no doubt that a man can shoot better with the 
Relaxing Trigger than with any trigger we now have. 
It is worthy of a most thorough test and trial. 

I think some changes will have to be made before 
it can be used in war. As a sporting trigger it means 
better shooting. 

It is better than anything we have had on the range. 
The only question in my mind is whether we can make 
it sufficiently safe for military use ; whether it will be 
safe to depend on negative rather than upon positive 
action is the question. 

Sincerely yours, 

Leonard Wood. 
Major Murray Baldwin, 

San Francisco, California. 



The model that General Wood saw was the one 
described as the military model and was the first one 



124 

produced. Acting on the ideas expressed in General 
Wood's letter and explained very clearly by him in 
a personal interview with the author, a different 
model was made, which has been designated as the 
sporting model in the text. 

The author still has a certain personal preference 
for the military model for use with troops. Never- 
theless, nearly all officers who have seen both models 
prefer the one described as the sporting model for 
military use. While the functioning of the sporting 
model is described in the text, it is considered not in- 
appropriate to state here the essential difference be- 
tween the two. 

With the military model, when the trigger is re- 
tracted and it is desired to execute "cease firing," the 
middle finger must first move forward to engage the 
safety latch and then pull it back. Should the rifle 
be dropped, it will be discharged. 

With the sporting model, when under similar con- 
ditions it is desired to execute "cease firing," the 
middle finger is extended, making one motion only; 
and furthermore, should the rifle be dropped or 
jerked from the hands of the rifleman, no discharge 
will take place. 

Owing to the marked preference shown for the 
sporting model, the author now considers that this 
type will be the one selected for military use by our 
government. Had it not been for General Wood's 
constructive criticism, this model would not have been 
produced. It was a matter of the utmost difficulty, 
but the results more than compensate for the energy 
expended. 

Lieutenant-General Hunter Liggett's services in 
France where he commanded the First Army and was 



125 

next in command to General Pershing are well known. 
Before the declaration of war he was the head of the 
Army War College. He inspected the Relaxing Trig- 
ger as applied to a service rifle for three days, de- 
voting about an hour and a half per day to a most 
minute examination of every detail of its use. 

He sees in the Relaxing Trigger not only an instru- 
ment that facilitates instruction in rifle practice, but 
also an instrument that improves the tactical efficiency 
of the rifle in keeping fire low in battle. 

Note his letter to the author, which appears below. 

HEADQUARTERS WESTERN DEPARTMENT 

San Francisco, California. 

February 4, 1920. 
My dear Major: 

I have carefully examined the service rifle fitted 
with your Relaxing Trigger and have been most 
favorably impressed. 

The claims you advance for this trigger are so 
logical that I believe the attachment worthy of careful 
tests by the War Department, as advocated by you. 

I believe these tests should include field firing, as 
well as individual firing at known ranges. 

Sincerely yours, 

H. Liggett, 
Lieut. -General, U.S. Army. 

Major Murray Baldwin, U.S.A. 
San Francisco, California. 



126 

General Liggett's interest did not stop there. He 
also officially recommended to the War Department 
that the action indicated in his personal letter should 
he taken. This latter communication being official and 
not personal cannot for various reasons, some of which 
are of course obvious, be reproduced here. 

It can be said, however, that a thorough test is to 
be made in accordance with his recommendation at 
the School of Musketry, Camp Benning, Columbus, 
Georgia. This test including the preparation of rifles 
with the Relaxing Trigger is to be at government 
expense. 

Five thousand shots were fired by the Relaxing 
Trigger while in development at the Marine Corps 
Rifle Range at Wakefield, Massachusetts. Astounding 
results were obtained. These results cannot fail to be 
also in evidence at Camp Benning, where the test will 
take place in a few months. 



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